Poison Apple
by sofia313
Summary: "I'm your wife, not one of your whores! Our marriage certainly does not base on love and I do not expect much of you, but when you want me to fulfill my marital duties, you will come to me sober and you will show me the respect your spouse deserves."
1. Prologue

Prologue

England, 1490

Elijah looked outside through the window while having his morning tea. The spring was finally here after the long and very cold winter. People in villages had lost a lot of cattle and as the landowners that affected Elijah and his family as well. Not that they personally had much use for cattle, but famine certainly would be harmful to them. Fortunately the situation didn't seem to be that bad, at least not yet.

Niklaus was planning to negotiate with the king about giving the villagers some tax relieves until their situation would improve. Hopefully the harvest would be good this year. Elijah sighed and observed the small birds sitting on the branch behind the window; they seemed to be enjoying the morning sun. He was too lost in his thoughts to notice his brother who had just entered the library.

"I just received a very interesting message," Niklaus said.

Elijah turned to look at him.

"What kind of message?"

"From Kol. He will arrive here today."

"I see," Elijah replied, he couldn't quite understand what was so interesting about that. Kol didn't stay anywhere for long, he had always been a wanderer. Elijah hadn't seen him for few years, but that wasn't anything new.

"He is not coming alone," Niklaus added.

Elijah suppressed his urge to roll his eyes; he wondered what kind of "lovely" lady his brother had found this time. Or perhaps he would bring some kind of harem with him; that wouldn't be anything new.

"How nice," Elijah huffed and took a sip out of his teacup.

"He is bringing his wife with him," Niklaus continued.

That made Elijah almost to choke on his tea.

"Excuse me?"

Niklaus grinned.

"Yes, I was surprised as well, but that was what he wrote."

Elijah needed a moment to process this information.

"Kol have got married?"

"Yes, so it seems. I must say that I am curious to meet a woman who managed to tame our little brother."

Elijah had to admit that he was curious as well; Kol was the last person he had ever thought would get married. In fact, Kol had once said that Elijah would more likely see him wearing one of Rebekah's gowns than taking a wife. This woman had to indeed be something very special.


	2. My ice princess

**Thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts :) Answer to the guest question, yes, they are vampires in this story.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

**My ice princess**

The ice princess. That was what people, including my husband, called me. The woman who never smiled. I didn't care what people thought, but if anyone would have asked why I didn't smile I would have said that I had no reason. The man sitting opposite me in the carriage certainly hadn't given me any reason.

It had always been clear that I wouldn't be allowed to choose my husband and I had been taught to forget all the naïve thoughts about love, but I had secretly hoped for at least some kind of affection. Yes, one could always hope. When I had been told who I would be given to I had wanted to run. I had certainly known his reputation and the thought of binding myself to someone like him had been unbearable.

But as my dear family had put it, a deal was a deal and I would give him my allegiance, along with everything else I had. A good deal for everyone except me. My father hadn't cared about my pleas; I had always been his least favorite child. That had made me expendable; he would have never given any of my sisters to this man.

Well, I could be as bitter as I wanted, but what good would that do? No, I had done what I did the best, adapt and survive. I certainly didn't expect him to love me, but perhaps in time our coexistence would be tolerable. He was leaning back on his seat, observing me with his dark eyes.

"Relax, darling," he hummed smirking. "We are not in the church, you know."

I didn't bother to reply, he could mock my posture all he wanted. I had been taught that a lady was supposed to sit up her back straight, no matter how uncomfortable she would be. I didn't have my embroidery, so my hands were folded in my lap.

"Is my ice princess mad at me?" he asked when I ignored him and looked outside through the window. "Do not tell me that you are still pouting because of that maid."

"She did not deserve that," I replied, keeping my voice completely free from emotions.

"Perhaps not, but who should we blame for her unfortunate fate? I did warn you about that sharp tongue of yours, did I not, darling?"

"You did, my lord."

He smiled, probably amused by my suppressed anger. If he hoped to see me showing him any emotions he would be disappointed. People didn't call me the ice princess for nothing; this was the one thing I was actually good at.

"You will have a new maid as soon as we arrive at my siblings' home. There, problem solved."

"I would like to choose that maid if I may," I stated.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Sure, darling, why not."

"Thank you, my lord," I replied calmly. I would choose someone so unattractive that he wouldn't feel the need to seduce and drain her as soon as he would want to punish me. Two could play this game.

"How long will we stay with your siblings?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"I am not sure yet," he replied absentmindedly. "Why, can you see something?"

"No, there is no threat," I replied. "I would tell you immediately if there would be."

He smirked.

"Oh, I know, darling, you can't bear the thought of anything happening to me."

"I was under the impression that you do not like your family," I stated, ignoring his comment.

"Who does," he huffed. "My guess is that you are not too fond of your own family, are you, darling?"

"They are no longer my family," I replied calmly. "My loyalties lie with you, my lord."

Not that I had any choice. He smiled and leaned forward.

"I know. You are a good wife, my dear Cassandra."

I met his gaze without even blinking. He didn't give me compliments unless he wanted something.

"While we are there, I want you to keep your…shall we say eyes, open," he said.

"Of course," I replied. "I always do, you will be safe."

"No, that's not what I meant. I want you to keep your eyes _open_."

I had to struggle for not to show my tension, he didn't understand what he was asking.

"I see," I stated rigidly. "How many people are we talking about?"

"My brothers," he replied. "Perhaps my sister as well."

"If I do that, I cannot guarantee your safety, my husband. I cannot concentrate on so many things at once, my…ability have its limitations. And I need to know what I am looking for exactly."

"Anything that would pose any kind of threat to me," he replied.

I was starting to understand his sudden urge to see his family. It was almost amusing.

"You certainly trust your family," I muttered.

"I do not trust anyone," he huffed. "But this is merely a precaution, I told you about my brother's habit to dagger his siblings whenever he feels like it."

"Yes, you did. He sounds very charming."

"You have no idea."

I hesitated for few seconds before continuing.

"There is a problem."

He raised his eyebrows.

"A problem?"

"I am not linked to them as I am to you, which means that in order to do what you are asking I need a physical contact."

"What kind of contact are we talking about?"

"Any kind, but the problem is that I will need to retain that contact long enough to find what I am looking for."

He sighed.

"We will see what we can do about that."

I looked at him harshly.

"Do not think for a second that I would… That won't happen."

He smirked.

"Well, I am glad to see how faithful you are to me."

I suppressed a snort; he was the last person to talk about fidelity. Not that I expected him to be monogamous, our whole marriage was nothing more than a business arrangement. My father had been in debt to him, now that debt had been paid. I hadn't asked for this, but unfortunately life was unfair, I would just have to suck it up. What I needed to do now was prepare.

"Tell me everything you can about your siblings," I asked. "I need to know what I am dealing with."


	3. Family meeting

**Chapter 2**

**Family meeting**

Elijah was concentrated on the letter he needed to finish, sir Richard Neville was waiting for his response to his inquiry concerning the land they owned in the north, he was interested in buying it. They however weren't interested in selling it, but the matter needed to be expressed as discreetly as possible, Sir Richard had a lot of influence in the court. Elijah was always the one who took care of these kinds of responsibilities, Niklaus certainly didn't have any patience to be discreet or in some cases even polite. Perhaps that irritated Elijah sometimes, but he had got used to be the diplomatic one, he had good negotiating skills. Elijah bit his bottom lip while sinking his quill into a bottle of ink; he had some trouble to finish the letter. Perhaps he should invite Sir Richard here, Niklaus was hosting a ball soon… His thoughts were cut off by the knock on the door.

"Yes?" he said absentmindedly.

A servant entered the room and bowed.

"Excuse me, my lord. Lord Niklaus wished me to inform you that your brother has arrived."

Elijah looked up, for a moment he had almost forgotten the whole thing. He had taken care of their correspondence the whole morning; he hadn't even noticed that it was an afternoon already.

"Lord Niklaus is expecting you in the parlor," the servant added.

"Thank you," Elijah replied. He stretched his arms before standing up; he could finish the letter later, meeting Kol's wife certainly interested him more. He headed straight to the parlor; Niklaus and Rebekah were already there.

"This should be good," Rebekah stated, clearly she was amused. Niklaus grinned, he seemed to be feeling the same way. Elijah didn't say anything, he really didn't know what to expect. His eyes widened when Kol entered the room arm in arm with a young woman. Her honey blonde hair was up in a stylish coiffure and she was wearing pale blue velvet with blue and cream jacquard dress which highlighted her blue eyes. Her whole appearance was simply…captivating. Elijah had never seen eyes like hers; all he could do was staring at her.

"Brothers," Kol greeted them smirking. "Sister," he added, giving Rebekah a wink. "It has been a while."

"Yes, it has," Niklaus replied, his eyes were scanning Kol's companion. Clearly he liked what he was seeing.

"I would like to introduce you Lady Cassandra Grey…correction, Mikaelson. My wife. These are my brothers, Niklaus and Elijah and my sister Rebekah."

"Pleasure my lords, my lady," the woman said and curtsied. Her every move was graceful, result of practice, but her angelic face remained stoic.

"The pleasure is all mine," Niklaus replied smiling charmingly. Her expression didn't change when he moved in front of her and kissed her hand. Rebekah was observing her new sister-in-law carelessly from head to toes.

"She does not seem like your type, brother," she stated quite rudely. "Sure she is pretty, like a porcelain doll, but I thought you like more…lively women."

"Rebekah," Elijah scolded disapprovingly. "Manners, sister."

Kol grinned and wrapped his arm around his wife's waist.

"Oh, appearance can be deceiving, she is very much lively."

Lady Cassandra didn't say anything when he patted her bottom, but Elijah noticed the very slight irritation in her eyes. It was gone in a fraction of a second; she turned her eyes to Elijah when he approached her.

"My lady," he stated and kissed her hand. Her skin was soft and warm, she definitely wasn't a vampire. Kol had married a human? That made absolutely no sense; like Niklaus, Kol didn't see humans as anything more than food and entertainment.

"Welcome to our home," he added.

"Thank you, my lord," she replied, her tone was polite, but she didn't smile. "I am honored to meet my husband's family."

"How long have you two been married?" Niklaus asked, clearly he couldn't control his curiosity.

"Few months," Kol replied. "We have traveled in Europe."

"Where did you meet?"

"In Venice." Kol paused and smiled at his wife. "Nice city."

"Yes," she confirmed. "It is a lovely place."

"Your family lives there?" Niklaus asked.

"They did, my lord," she replied. "My father is a merchant, he travels quite a lot."

"I see. And how did a pretty thing like you end up marrying my brother?"

Elijah didn't think that it was appropriate to ask all these questions when they had just met this woman, but he had to admit that he was curios to hear her answers.

"We met at my father's birthday celebration," she replied calmly. "After few weeks your brother asked for my hand in marriage."

"Really?" Niklaus asked grinning. "Love at first sight?"

"Sure," Kol replied and touched Cassandra's neck. "That is one way to put it. Let's just say that she knows how to fulfill my needs."

"I bet she does," Niklaus chuckled.

Cassandra's expression didn't change, but her body tensed a little.

"Perhaps you should not talk about your wife like that," Elijah stated coolly. "It is disrespectful."

Kol seemed amused.

"When you get married, you can talk about your wife however you choose, but this is my wife. Besides, she knows that I am kidding, isn't that right, darling?"

"Yes, my lord," she replied and glanced at Elijah. "He likes to think that people appreciate his sense of humor."

"Do they not?" Kol asked grinning.

"Not really, my lord. Not if they are still capable of thinking with the right part of their body."

Elijah couldn't help but smile; there was something strangely amusing about her dry humorless tone.

"What part might that be, love?" Niklaus inquired teasingly.

"I do not think my answer would help you much if you need to ask a question like that in the first place," she stated.

Niklaus' eyes widened and Kol certainly didn't look pleased, but Rebekah on the other hand burst into laughter.

"Touché. Perhaps I spoke too hastily; you seem to be more than a pretty doll."

"Thank you, my lady," she replied.

Niklaus crossed his arms, he didn't seem to be able to decide was he irritated or not.

"She has a sharp tongue, does she, brother?"

"Yes, she does," Kol replied, he certainly was irritated. "An unfortunate flaw I have not yet managed to weed."

"I do not think it is a flaw," Elijah said.

Kol rolled his eyes.

"You are not the one who has to live with her. But she will learn, I have time to teach her."

"My lord is too kind," she stated almost challengingly. Kol's eyes narrowed.

"I think my dear wife is tired after our long journey."

Niklaus smirked and called out for a servant to escort Kol and his wife to the guest chamber where Kol had stayed the last time he had been here.

"Will you join us for dinner?" Elijah asked.

"Perhaps," Kol replied coolly. "Excuse us."

"Our poor brother," Niklaus chuckled when they had walked out. "She is really quite…something."

Elijah bit his bottom lip; he was more concerned of her safety, Kol's temper was just as bad as Niklaus'. This was definitely the last thing he should intervene, she was Kol's wife. What happened between them was their business. What he needed to do was stay out of it.


	4. End of all hope

**Chapter 3**

**End of all hope**

I looked around in the big bedchamber I had just entered; it would have certainly fit for royalty. The wide canopy bed with burgundy bedcover and bed curtains, the dresser, the armchairs, the fireplace, the paintings on the walls, the rugs, the bronze candlesticks, everything looked flawless. My wooden chest had already been brought here; it was next to the bed. Fortunately there was fire in the fireplace; I had been cold ever since we had entered inside the stone walls of this castle. I had always been very sensitive to cold, it was an unfortunate side effect to my ability, but I had never told Kol about it. It was a weakness that could be used against me.

"You are not a very fast learner, are you, my dear?" Kol stated coolly, he had just closed the door behind him.

I turned calmly to look at him; he had crossed his arms over his chest.

"How many times do I have to teach you to hold your tongue, especially in front of other people?"

"As many times as I have to politely ask my lord to show me some respect, especially in front of other people," I replied.

His eyes narrowed as he took a step towards me. I didn't move, we both knew that he wouldn't physically harm me. That would be very unwise. Obviously that didn't mean that he wouldn't have other ways to punish me, but I wasn't afraid of him. Unfortunately for him, there was nothing he could really use against me. Well, nothing he knew about, I had made sure of that.

"I am your husband," he hissed. "I own you."

"Indeed you do, my lord," I replied docilely. "However, that ownership comes with certain obligations, as you know. Surely I do not have to remind my lord that you agreed to fulfill those obligations when you purchased me from my father?"

His eyebrows furrowed and he pressed his lips together, he certainly wasn't pleased.

"What I agreed to do was take care of your physical needs," he stated icily. "I have done that, have I not? I have given you everything you need and more, you have not been cold or hungry."

"I have not, my lord."

He stepped in front of me and cupped my chin.

"That's what I thought. I suggest you keep in mind who is in charge."

"Of course. I live to serve you, my lord."

I had to struggle for not to sound mocking, my tone was as neutral as always. He smiled and ran his thumb over my bottom lip.

"You truly are quite something, darling," he stated. "You remind of this wild horse my father brought home when I was a young boy. My mother thought that he had made a foolish purchase, but he said that any creature can be tamed with enough patience and determination." He paused and leaned closer, his lips were almost touching mine. "It turned out that he was right. When he was finished, that horse was as tame and obedient as a sheep."

"How nice," I replied coolly. If he thought that he could make me a sheep, he could think again. The part of me that could still feel pain was buried so deep inside me that he would never find it. The hopes and dreams for future, the love I had felt, the joy and happiness, it was all gone now. The ice princess was all that was left and she couldn't be hurt, she could take anything. I held still when he gave me a brief and gentle kiss, it was all part of his mind game.

"I think you will have your dinner here," he said smiling and caressed my cheek. "I will choose you a maid and send her here."

Right, that maid would no doubt be pretty, which meant that I couldn't even so much as have a conversation with her without fearing for her life. What I had hoped was some elderly, not so attractive maid who could have offered me some company. Of course he couldn't possibly let me have that.

"As my lord wishes."

He observed me for few seconds before taking a step back.

"I believe I will go to the village tonight," he stated absentmindedly. "Anything I need to know?"

I suppressed a sigh and closed my eyes. Disgusting, disgusting, very disgusting, skip, skip, yuck.

"I would avoid the redhead with large bosom if I were you, my lord," I muttered.

He raised his eyebrows.

"Why is that?"

"Syphilis," I replied simply.

"Ah. Thank you for the warning darling."

"I am just performing my duty, my lord."

Not that he would actually catch the disgusting disease, vampires didn't get sick, but the experience would be very unpleasant. Despite of everything, he could always trust me to look after him, it was my sacred duty as his wife. I didn't have to like him, but I needed to make sure that he was safe.

"Have fun," I stated carelessly and walked in front of the large window. The garden looked absolutely beautiful in the evening sun; I would have loved to take a walk.

"Will I?" he asked. "Have fun?"

"Yes," I huffed. "I will see you in the morning, my husband."

I closed my eyes after he had left; I needed a moment to gather my strength. I wasn't as strong as my sisters, Agatha, Belinda and Eleanor, the triplets. Our father worshiped them; they had made him a very rich and powerful man. I on the other hand had never interested him; he had always planned to sell me when I would be old enough. I had been raised to become a wife of some very rich lord, perhaps even a royalty; no commoner could have ever afforded me, not with the special service I had to offer.

Yet I had lost my heart to a commoner. I turned around and walked in front of the wooden chest. It contained everything I owned, the gowns, the jewelry, the perfumes, the books and the embroideries. I opened the chest and picked up my jewelry box. Kol had given me all kind of expensive jewelry, necklaces, bracelets and rings, but none of that meant anything to me. The only object in this world I held dear was the modest tin ring I kept hidden under all the expensive jewelries.

Carefully I picked it up and touched it with my fingertips. Marco… He had worked in the kitchen of my family's household, a very kind and quiet young man. He had been the first and only person who had ever showed me kindness without asking anything in return. We had planned to run away together, get married and be happy. How stupid and naïve I had been for thinking that my father wouldn't find out.

I could remember every second of the night we were supposed to run away. I have had dinner with my family when my father had announced that he had a special surprise for me. A servant had carried a tray covered with silver cloche on the table. I had known what was on that tray before my father had lifted the cloche. Marco's head and his heart. My sisters had grinned at me arrogantly and my brothers had laughed, like it would have been the funniest thing they had ever seen.

I hadn't said a word or shed a tear; something in me had died in that moment. The hope had died. My father had said very coldly that I belonged to him and he would give me to whoever he would choose. Perhaps giving me to this man had just been a way for him to punish me some more. I allowed myself to touch the ring softly with my lips before placing it back into the jewelry box.

As I closed the box, I closed my heart as well, I couldn't afford to feel. Well, I did feel something, I was cold. I curled up on the armchair in front of the fireplace and enjoyed the warmth. This was nice. My muscles began to relax and I almost fell asleep, but the knock on the door made me to jump to my feet.

"Yes?"

The door opened and a young woman entered the room. Of course she had to be beautiful, her dark hair was up in a bun, her skin was milky white and she was full-bosomed. Kol liked large breasts, mine were quite modest, at least comparing to this girl.

"Good evening, my lady," she said and curtsied. "My name is Cecily, I am your chambermaid."

"Hello," I greeted her. "I would like to take a bath before having my dinner."

"Of course, my lady, I will prepare you a bath right away."

"Thank you," I replied and sat down on the armchair. I wouldn't be rude, but I couldn't be very kind to this girl either. I couldn't like anyone, people who I liked always ended up dead one way or another. The thought was quite depressing; I was like some kind of angel of death. Fortunately I had no intention to care about anyone ever again.


	5. Good wife

**Chapter 4**

**Good wife**

"Your wife will not join us?" Elijah asked before taking a sip out of his wine goblet.

"No," Kol replied. "The poor thing was exhausted; she will have dinner in our chamber."

"Tell me, brother, what made you to marry her?" Niklaus asked. "Could you not bed her without sealing the deal?"

"Niklaus," Elijah protested, but Kol was just smirking.

"I was bored," he replied. "I felt like trying something new and then I ran into her. A pure and virtuous little lady whose father was the wealthiest man in Venice. She had been raised to become a good wife so I thought, why not; it could be fun to have someone to take care of all my needs."

"So, she is just a plaything?" Niklaus asked.

Kol shrugged.

"She has served her purpose and I have been pleased with her. Most of the time."

"Are you planning to turn her then?"

"We'll see."

Elijah huffed disapprovingly, he had never understood the ways his brothers amused themselves. This was a human girl, not some object. A very beautiful human girl… No, he definitely couldn't go there.

"Does she mean anything to you?" he asked coolly.

Kol seemed amused.

"Of course she does, she is my wife."

"Who you married for fun," Rebekah huffed.

"Enough you two," Niklaus snorted. "You are always so boring, why should not Kol have some fun?"

"Thank you, Nik," Kol sighed. "I am heading to the village, want to join me?"

"Sure, sounds good. Just like old times."

"And your wife?" Elijah asked harshly.

Kol rolled his eyes.

"What about her, she is resting. Can I not trust her to be safe here?"

"Of course you can, but that is not…"

"Let's go," Niklaus cut in. "Unless you wish you spend the whole night listening to our big brother's morality sermons."

"No, thank you," Kol snorted and stood up. "Good night, Elijah, Bekah."

"He certainly hasn't changed," Rebekah muttered after Niklaus and Kol had left.

"No," Elijah sighed. "He has not."

"Anyhow, I have some plans, good night, brother."

"Good night," Elijah replied absentmindedly. He was alone in the dining room now, wondering what to do. Perhaps he should make sure that their guest had everything she needed… No, that wouldn't be a good idea. Why not, he would just be a polite host to his brother's wife. Yes, what was so wrong with that? He emptied his goblet and headed to the door before he would change his mind. There was nothing inappropriate about this; he would just ask if she needed anything. He marched across the hallway to the guest chamber when the door opened and the maid stepped outside carrying a tray. She closed the door behind her before she noticed him.

"My lord," she greeted him timidly and curtsied, keeping her eyes down. Elijah had never mistreated servants, but this girl was new and he couldn't blame her for being cautious, she probably knew Niklaus' reputation.

"Good evening," he replied calmly. "How is Lady Cassandra?"

"She is in bed, my lord; she was tired after having her dinner."

"Hmm," Elijah muttered, he couldn't help but to feel disappointed. Obviously he wouldn't bother her now.

"Did she have everything she requires?"

"Yes, my lord, she only wished to take a bath and someone to make sure that the fire in the fireplace wouldn't die during the night."

"I see."

The maid curtsied again and headed towards the kitchen. Elijah stayed behind the door for a brief moment, perhaps he should still… No, what was he doing, the lady was sleeping. Determinedly he marched to the library; he needed to get rid of his ridiculous thoughts. He sighed and picked up the first book within his reach. This would end right now.

* * *

The redhead with large bosom. Kol tried very hard for not to laugh when he saw her sitting on his brother's lap. The tavern was full of drunken people and Kol certainly wasn't sober either, he and Nik were sitting at the corner table. Perhaps he should warn poor Nik, but where would be the fun in that? Thank you, sweet Cassandra.

She was the most expensive purchase he had ever made, but she was worth every dime. Her father, Lucien, certainly wouldn't have sold her to him if he wouldn't have owed Kol a favor. Yet he wouldn't have dreamt of giving the girl to Kol for free, of course not. Lucien Grey was many things, a warlock, a nobleman, a businessman, but most of all he was a damn greedy bastard.

Not that Kol had a problem with that, according to his experience, greedy people were predictable and that was always a good thing. His negotiations with Lucien hadn't lasted for long; the only issue had been the money. Lucien hadn't shown much interest towards his daughter's wellbeing, he had only mentioned briefly that if Kol wanted to have value for his money, it would be wise for him to take care of her physical needs and avoid damaging her body.

During the months they had been together, Cassandra hadn't shown in any way that she would miss her family, but then again, she didn't show much anything, the girl was like some damn lump of ice. Their wedding night had certainly been entertaining; she had just lied still like a corpse. If the whole thing wouldn't have been necessary in order to activate the link between them, Kol wouldn't have done it at all.

Despite of his best efforts, she hadn't made a sound or allowed herself to relax. He still couldn't understand how that was even possible; he knew that he was a damn good lover. Of course he was aware that some virgins could be nervous, but she hadn't been nervous, she had simply been cold as ice. The most annoying part was that he had actually tried to go easy on her and be polite, he had even offered to hold her afterwards, which he never did, but she had dared to ask him to leave, they had already "completed the task".

He had approached her few times after that, but he had quickly got bored, there was absolutely no fire in her. All she had was her attitude and her sharp tongue. Neither one pleased Kol, he was determined to get rid of them. Perhaps he was too hard on her sometimes, she did fulfill her duty, but nothing seemed to affect her, she didn't react to anything. It was damn annoying.

Like a good little wife, she didn't turn him down, but she didn't enjoy his touch either, he doubted that she was capable of enjoying anything. The ice princess indeed. It didn't really matter; he hadn't bought her to warm his bed. Of course that would have been a nice bonus, he had always enjoyed her beauty, but there were plenty of other women to fulfill that task. Speaking of which…

The busty brunette on his lap giggled when he kissed her neckline before biting down just enough to break the skin. She moaned when he took his time to lick the wound clean, he could smell her arousal. Now this was more like it, this was how women were supposed to react to his touch. Why didn't his own wife react like this?

The thought irritated him more and more as he lifted the brunette's hem and slid his hand between her legs. She cried out and trembled with lust, she wouldn't have minded if he would have thrown her on the table and took her right there. What he planned to do was taking her to the carriage waiting outside or perhaps behind the tavern, even though he doubted that anyone in the tavern would have cared if he would have claimed her right there.

Yes, he could claim her, but suddenly his drunken mind decided that she wasn't the one he wanted to claim. What he wanted was to hear his wife to moan for him like this brunette. He wanted her to finally give in and show him some fire. She had it in her, he was sure of it. All he needed to do was get it out.


	6. Sinful thoughts

**Thank you for the reviews, favs and alerts :) I'm going to change the rating to M, just in case.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

**Sinful thoughts**

_The deep brown eyes were looking at me like I would have been the most important person in this world. I could have spent hours looking into those eyes; our short stolen moments were never enough. I touched the soft lips with my fingers and leaned forward to kiss him._

"_Wait," he said very quietly. "I…I need to tell you something."_

_For a moment my heart almost stopped, he didn't want to see me anymore. No, no, I couldn't lose him…_

"_I love you, my lady. I know I have no right to say it or feel like this, you should have me flogged."_

_I was unable to speak, had I just heard him right? _

"_You…love me?" I muttered._

_He bowed his head and nodded._

"_I do, my lady, with all my heart. You are everything to me."_

"_Marco…"_

"_As I said, I know I have no right to feel like this, but I must confess that my thoughts are even more sinful. I have dreamt of taking you away from here, somewhere far away and ask you to be my wife. I know how wrong my thoughts are, I have nothing to offer you except myself and my undying love…"_

"_Yes," I gasped without hesitation. "Yes, I will marry you."_

_He was stunned when he looked up._

"_My lady…"_

_I muffled the rest of his sentence with a brief kiss._

"_Cassandra," I corrected. _

"_Cassandra…" he repeated like my name would have been a prayer. "If this is a dream, I do not want to wake up."_

_I laughed and kissed him again, I had never been so happy._

"_Cassandra…"_

"Cassandra?"

My eyes flew open when I felt someone touching my cheek. I was already reaching for the knife I always kept under my pillow before I recognized Kol. He was lying on the bed beside me and I could immediately tell that he was drunk. The chamber was dark despite of few candles; it definitely wasn't a morning yet.

"Surprised to see me, darling?" he asked smirking.

Yes, I was. Unfortunately I had been in a too deep sleep to see him coming, I would have only seen if something would have threatened his life. He knew all that, he knew I was vulnerable when I slept. Clearly he had made this decision impulsively, those decisions were always the most difficult ones to see, even when I was awake.

"Yes," I replied simply. "Did you not have a good time with the brunette? I thought she looked very attractive."

He laughed and twirled my hair around his finger.

"Oh, my sweet Cassandra… This is how I like you, with your hair down. I want you to keep it down more often."

How wonderful, he was very drunk.

"As you wish, my lord," I replied calmly and moved away from him. "I am tired so I am afraid I must bid you good night."

I certainly wouldn't have wanted to sleep in the same bed with him, but I knew better than to provoke him when he was this drunk. Hopefully he would just fall asleep quickly. I rolled on my side, turning my back on him, but he grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. The next thing I realized was that he was on top of me; his thumb was caressing my lips. His fingers felt cold, his touch almost made me shiver.

"I have a better idea," he hummed and captured my mouth, I felt him licking the inside of my lips with the tip of his tongue. He smelled like blood, smoke, alcohol and Lord knew what else; I pressed my lips together and turned my head away.

"We made an agreement, my lord," I said, forcing myself to sound calm. "Right now you are violating it."

He had agreed not to ask me to sleep with him when he was drunk and never without giving me time to prepare. Now I certainly wasn't prepared and I wasn't going to tolerate this. It had been a long while since he had even tried to touch me and I had hoped that things would stay like that. Surely he had no problem finding eager women to share his bed, what did he need me for.

"Agreement," he snorted and cupped my chin, making me to look at him. "I do not need any agreement to tell me when I can touch my wife."

"You agreed to that," I pointed out harshly. "Now I am asking you politely to keep your word and allow me to go back to sleep."

His annoyed and drunkenly stubborn look told me that he wasn't going to do that. I could look what would happen, but that would physically weaken me and right now I needed all my strength.

"Enough with this," he huffed. "You are mine and you will give me what I want."

His hand cupped my breast through my nightgown, I held still when he slid his other hand under my hem.

"Right now I want my ice princess to melt for me," he purred. His fingers were touching the edging of my knickers while he reached down and started to kiss my neck. "Relax, darling, I will teach you to enjoy it…"

No. He had no right to do this, he had promised me. The easiest way to deal with this would be to lie still and go somewhere else until he would be finished proving himself how manly he was or whatever this was about. I didn't know or care. He was groping me and licking my neck like I would be nothing more than some cheap harlot and he actually thought that I would enjoy this.

I felt anger I had never felt before, I didn't have to lie still and endure this. Was just a little respect too much to ask? No, it wasn't. I was too angry to think clearly and he was too occupied to notice me reaching for the knife. He certainly noticed when I stabbed him in the stomach. He let out an angry growl and moved enough for me to roll on the floor. I should have definitely been scared now, but all I felt was anger. Quickly I got to my feet; I was still squishing the bloody knife in my hand.

"How dare you," I hissed. "I'm your wife, not one of your whores! Our marriage certainly does not base on love and I do not expect much of you, but when you want me to fulfill my marital duties, you will come to me sober and you will show me the respect your spouse deserves!"

His eyes looked darker than ever before when he slowly got up and touched the bloodstains on his shirt. The wound hadn't been deep and it was already healed, but that made no difference, he was apoplectic. Neither of us moved, I was aware that my lost of control could cost me my life. Yet I couldn't bring myself to regret it, I simply waited what he would do. He clenched his fists as his fangs came out, it seemed that he was struggling to control himself.

"You will regret this, that I promise you," he snarled and zoomed out.

I couldn't move, slowly my hands started to shake and I dropped the knife. After a while I managed to walk to the bedside table, Cecily had left a water bowl for the morning. My hands were bloody; I started to rub them in the cold water. Soon my whole body was trembling, it couldn't handle the cold, but I didn't stop, I needed to get my hands clean…

"Lady Cassandra?"

The cautious male voice startled me, but I managed to pull myself together quickly before turning to the door. Lord Elijah was standing in the doorway; he was observing me with a worried expression.

"Forgive me for coming in without knocking, but I ran into my brother and…" He paused and entered the room. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine, thank you for asking," I heard myself saying. Obviously he didn't believe me, there was still blood on my hands.

"Are you injured?"

I shook my head.

"No, my husband and I had… a conversation, that is all."

"I see," he replied and walked in front of me. "May I?"

I couldn't understand what he meant, I was so cold that I couldn't even think straight anymore. He sank a handkerchief into the water bowl and carefully cleaned my hands with it.

"You are freezing," he muttered. I was too numb to resist when he helped me to lie down and tucked me in. I curled up into a fetal position when he kneeled in front of the fireplace and added wood. Why? What did he want? I hated anyone seeing me like this; I had never felt so weak and pathetic. None of this would have happened if I would have just controlled myself, just like I always did.

The whole thing would have been over by now and I could have made it clear to Kol how little I had enjoyed it after he would have sobered up. He could have even felt guilty for breaking our agreement and allow me to choose myself some elderly maid who could keep me company. None of that would happen now; he would find some way to punish me. The thought was too much for me in my current state of mind, for the first time in a very long time I felt a tear rolling down my cheek.

"Hey…"

Oh, right, I wasn't alone.

"My lady?"

"_I love you, my lady…"_

I closed my eyes and hugged myself tightly, the bed squeaked when someone sat down next to me and touched my shoulder.

"Marco…" I muttered and wrapped my arms tightly around him. His body tensed at first, but I didn't let go, I couldn't. I needed him, my Marco. He didn't say anything when I snuggled against him; I just wanted to feel him next to me. Calmingly he stroked my back until I was asleep.


	7. Sun and daisies

**Chapter 6**

**Sun and daisies**

Elijah was afraid to move, the girl was sleeping so peacefully in his arms. She felt warm now; he closed his eyes and listened to her steady heartbeat. Her scent was very sweet, she smelled of sun and daisies… She was his brother's wife; he forced himself to remember that. Perhaps Kol was far from a good husband, at least based on what Elijah had seen, and his reasons for marry this girl had been anything but noble, but that didn't change the fact that they were married.

But who was Marco? Her brother? Probably not. She loved him. Elijah couldn't help but wonder did Kol know about that. Had she actually agreed to marry his brother if she loved someone else? Sadly things like that didn't usually matter; arranged marriages were very common for noblewomen. Kol had mentioned that her father was the wealthiest man in Venice, surely a nobleman. Why would any father promise his daughter to Kol?

Elijah did love his brother, but he wasn't blind to his faults, he couldn't imagine anyone considering Kol as a good husband candidate. Kol had never even wanted to become a husband, the whole thing seemed very odd. Elijah felt sympathy for the girl, he didn't know what had happened between Kol and her tonight, but she had seemed to be in some kind of shock. At least she was peaceful now; her body was completely relaxed against his.

He wouldn't have minded staying like this until the morning, but he did have enough decency to understand how inappropriate this was. Very carefully he laid her down on the bed, she shivered in her sleep. Was she cold? He tucked her in and picked up the extra blanket lying on the end of the bed. She sighed when he placed the blanket over her and touched her cheek in order to make sure that her skin was warm. Yes, that was definitely the only reason.

She looked incredible delicate, like the porcelain doll Rebekah had compared her to. So tiny and fragile, like some ethereal creature from fairytales. As Rebekah had pointed out, she definitely didn't seem like Kol's type, according to Elijah's experience, his brother liked very…different kind of women. Why had he chosen this particular girl? Not that Elijah could blame any man for wanting someone like her, but he still couldn't understand what had made Kol to marry her.

She definitely didn't deserve to be treated like this; Elijah doubted that she had asked for any of this. For some reason her father had thought that Kol would be a good husband for her and Elijah was determined to make sure that his brother would at least make an effort. Marriage wasn't something Elijah took lightly and neither should Kol. This girl wasn't a plaything; she was a real person with real feelings. It was Kol's responsibility to take care of her wellbeing, like a husband should.

* * *

Safe. For the first time in a very long time I had felt safe in Marco's arms. I knew it had just been a dream and I struggled for not to wake up, I wanted to stay in that dream. Finally I had no choice but to give up and open my eyes. The curtains were closed, but few sunrays managed to peak between them. What time was it?

"Good morning, my lady," a female voice suddenly said. I startled, I hadn't notice Cecily adding wood in the fireplace.

"Good morning," I muttered, I felt disoriented. Then I remembered everything that had happened last night. I had stabbed Kol. No, why had I been so stupid. I remembered the rage in his eyes; I had never seen him so angry. This was very bad, I needed to… Oh no. His brother had come here and I had… No, no, no. Dear Lord, had I called him Marco? If he would tell Kol… He probably already had, why wouldn't he?

"Are you alright, my lady?" Cecily asked. "You look very pale."

"Yes," I forced myself to say. "I am fine."

I gave myself few seconds before getting up into a sitting position.

"I would like to get dressed."

"Shall I bring you your breakfast first…"

"No, thank you, that won't be necessary."

I controlled myself perfectly again, I needed to get ready and I certainly had no appetite. Kol would be here soon, I could tell. Concentrate… It didn't matter if this would weaken me; I had no chance to defend myself if he would want to hurt me. I needed to see how badly I had angered him.

* * *

"Nice, brother, very nice."

Very slowly Kol opened his eyes and regretted it immediately. His poor head… Apparently he was lying on the sofa; Nik was standing next to him with his arms crossed.

"What?" Kol muttered and rubbed his temples.

Nik's eyes narrowed.

"Take a look around."

"Do I have to?" Kol complained, he really wanted to close his eyes.

"Yes," Nik snapped.

Reluctantly Kol turned his head. Apparently he had destroyed the parlor and there were few bodies lying on the floor. Cassandra. He had been so close to rip her in pieces. She should have known better. All he had tried to do was teach her how to be a normal woman, a normal wife, how to feel pleasure. She had stabbed him and raised her voice to him. For some incomprehensible reason, the thought made him smirk.

That had been the first time when he had seen her actually expressing any emotion. He had known that she had it in her, the fire. But he had to admit that perhaps he had gone too far, although his recollections about last night were partly hazy. Obviously she had some intimacy issues, so he had agreed on her terms, as ridiculous as they were. She would enjoy it, if she would just relax.

"Nothing to say?" Nik snorted.

Kol stretched his arms before getting up into a sitting position.

"The décor was outdated?"

"That's hilarious. I should warn you, I had a bad night and I am in no mood for…"

"Oh right, the redhead," Kol muttered, trying not to laugh.

"What?" Nik snapped.

"Nothing. Excuse me, brother; I think my little lady is expecting me."

Poor Nik, judging by his look, he had really had a bad night. Kol marched straight to his chamber and opened the door without knocking. Cassandra was sitting in the armchair in front of the fireplace, she was embroidering. Her hair was up in a plait coiffure and she was wearing one of her darker gowns.

"My lord," she greeted him without looking up, her voice held no emotion. If he had thought that she couldn't possibly be any more rigid, he had been wrong.

"Is that all?" he asked. "Nothing else you wish to say to me?"

"I apologize for hurting you," she replied with the same tone.

"And you think that is enough?"

"That is your choice to make, my lord."

She seemed completely concentrated on her embroidery, but he noticed that her hands were shaking a little. He knew what that meant and smirked.

"Tell me, darling, what will my choice be?"

"You will accept my apology," she replied.

"Will I? Are you sure about that?"

She shook her head.

"No, as I have told you, things can change very quickly."

He almost managed to startle her by zooming in front of her; she kept her face completely callous.

"Oh, darling," he hummed and bent down to touch her cheek. "Yes, I will accept your apology, but…"

"You would think twice before trying something like that again if you were me. Next time you won't be so understanding," she finished.

He smiled, he still hadn't got used to her doing that. Not that she did very often, mostly when she was trying to irritate him.

"Well said. And I do wish to apologize as well; a deal is a deal, as you said."

"Thank you, my lord."

He observed her for a brief moment before continuing.

"You know, when I think about it now, the whole stabbing thing was actually quite…arousing. And I am sober now."

Her expression didn't change; slowly she stood up and placed her embroidery onto the small table before walking to the bed.

"Very well, my lord."

The bed had already been made, she didn't pull down the cover, she simply lied down and pulled her hem up.

"Mind my hair, please," she stated. "It took Cecily almost half an hour to make this coiffure."

He rolled his eyes; she sure knew how to spoil his mood.

"Never mind," he huffed. "You have some work to do anyway, darling, you are not here on holiday."

She stood up and looked at him.

"You do remember what I told you about my…limitations? I cannot guarantee your safety if I…"

"Yes, yes, I got that. Dig up everything you can. Start with Elijah; I am pretty sure he is going to be the easier one."

Her expression tensed, clearly she wanted to say something, but didn't. He raised his eyebrows.

"Is there a problem?"

"No," she muttered. "No problem."

"Good. I think you will find him in the library, go in there and make yourself a new friend."


	8. Just a normal family

**Chapter 7**

**Just a normal family**

I forced myself to stay calm as I walked across the long hallway. A young servant passed me and greeted me with a brief bow; I wondered how many servants there were in this place. The castle seemed to be quite big and according to Kol, there were other vampires besides his siblings living here. He had called them his brother's lackeys and clearly he didn't think very highly of them. Pathetic young vampires who were willing to do anything in order to please Lord Niklaus.

Kol had told me how vicious, ruthless and feared his brother was. They seemed to have a lot in common. Lady Rebekah could be vicious as well and apparently she was quite temperamental, but most of all she hoped to be loved. Kol had huffed at that, but he seemed to genuinely like his sister; he had spoken almost fondly of her. Lord Elijah was the oldest one of his siblings and he was supposed to be "the boringly noble one" of them, but that didn't mean much, I didn't know how accurate Kol's characterizing had been.

Apparently Kol's three siblings had lived together for all their vampire life and I had read between the lines that Kol felt some kind of bitterness towards them. Of course he would never admit it, he had made it very clear that he didn't need anyone or trusted anyone. At least the trust part was true; he was honestly concerned that his siblings would at some point hurt him. That could have sounded strange if I would have grown up in a normal family.

I certainly didn't trust any of my own siblings; they had never seen me as their equal. Of course not, I was a bastard and to them my mother had been nothing more than a whore. I didn't know much about her, but according to my sisters, she had sold me to our father after I had been born. I had always hoped that wasn't true, but I really didn't know. I was my father's eighth and youngest child, I had three sisters and four brothers.

My oldest brother, Barnabas, was almost 14 years older than me. He was our father's favorite son and he had certainly proven to be just as cruel and smart as father, he was an excellent businessman and his manners were flawless. He had never physically harmed me, but he had loved to scare me when I had been a child. He had told me in detail and a charming smile on his face how father would sell me to some horrible man who would do dreadful things to me. Things that a man and a woman did in bed. I had been too young to understand most of those things, but the thought of someone doing something like that to me had made me cry myself to sleep more than once.

I had never told anyone about those things, there had been no one I could have told. My teachers, who had practically raised me, had been very strict; their only goal had been to make me a suitable wife for a nobleman. They hadn't tolerated any tears or whining, a lady didn't whine. I had been taught manners and etiquette, how to curtsey, walk, sit, dance, ride, eat, embroider, make flower arrangements, play few instruments, including a violin and a harp, manage a household and so on. They had even taught me how to read, write and speak four different languages, just in case the potential buyer would want me to possess those skills.

My two other brothers, Rowland and Derrick had always been loud and aggressive, they had preferred hunting and drinking over studying. They had amused themselves by pushing me around for every now and then when we had been children, but I had learned how to avoid them. One time they had locked me into a wine cellar for the night and I had almost frozen to death, but that time father had actually punished them. I was valuable and if I would have died, he would have lost a lot of money.

Then there was Milo, my youngest brother. He was a very serious young man and he had never done anything to me, not even mocked me like my sisters, he had simply ignored me. I suppose that made him my favorite sibling. I hesitated for a moment when I was approaching the library; I needed to choose my every word carefully. Apparently Lord Elijah hadn't told Kol what had happened last night, at least not yet. I couldn't rule out the possibility that he would try to blackmail me, my brothers certainly would.

The good thing was that the only harmful thing he knew was Marco's name and I could make up some explanation to that if I had to. Then there was of course the whole me throwing myself at him. That could be more difficult to explain. I had no idea how Kol would react to that and I would have preferred not to find out. Alright, if his brother would indeed try to blackmail me, there weren't many things what he could want in exchange for his silence.

Could I do that? I almost snorted, sure I could, what choice did I have? It was either that or taking my chances with Kol. Maybe I should just take a look… No, I couldn't, not this soon; it would weaken me too much. If I could have rest afterwards then maybe, but I couldn't, Kol expected some results. I would just have to go in blindfolded. The door to the library was slightly open, I peeked inside and saw Lord Elijah sitting at the desk, he was writing something. I hesitated for a brief moment before knocking on the door. He looked up and immediately rose from his seat when he saw me.

"Lady Cassandra. Good morning."

"Good morning, my lord. I apologize if I am disturbing you…"

"No, no, you are not. Please, come in."

I forced myself to stay perfectly calm and entered the library. The first thing I noticed was the shelves full of books; I would have loved to take a closer look. My teachers had decided what I had been allowed to read, according to them most books weren't suitable for a woman, but Kol had never cared about that, he had bought me whatever books I had wanted to read. I had always been grateful for that, although he had sometimes huffed that he couldn't understand why I felt the need to read at all, it wasn't a useful skill for a woman.

"How are you?" Lord Elijah asked politely.

"I am fine, thank you," I replied. "How about you, my lord?"

"I am also fine. It is a beautiful morning."

"Yes, indeed."

I hesitated, trying desperately to read something, anything from his face. He was smiling politely; I wasn't sure how to continue.

"What can I do for you?" he asked, his tone was nothing but polite.

"I… I would like to apologize, my lord."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Apologize?"

Alright, this was it.

"My behavior last night was inexcusable and I am deeply ashamed. I realize what you must think of me and I can only hope that perhaps you can find it in your heart to…"

"My lady, please, there is no need for you to apologize," he assured.

"I am afraid I must disagree. However, I can assure you that something like that will never happen again."

He nodded.

"I accept your apology, if you insist of making one."

"Thank you, my lord, you are very gracious."

I paused and tried to brace myself to the worst part.

"I assume you have already spoken about this with my husband?"

"No, I have not," he replied.

"Oh. May I ask are you planning to do that soon?"

He looked at me calmly.

"Would you like me to?"

I retained the eye contact and managed to stay calm.

"That is your choice, my lord. My only wish is not to upset my beloved husband."

The corners of his mouth were twitching, like he would have tried his best to suppress a smile. Well, it was nice that he was enjoying this.

"I see. I believe you are right, perhaps it is best not to upset him."

I nodded and waited for him to continue, the price would come next. For a brief moment I felt bitterness, but I could only blame myself and my pathetic weakness for this. Why hadn't I just kept my damn mouth shut and be stronger? I had definitely brought this on myself.

"Thank you, my lord," I said when he didn't continue.

"You are welcome."

Again he didn't continue, was this some kind of game to him?

"I truly appreciate your consideration. How can I repay your kindness?"

He shook his head.

"There is no need to repay me, I can assure you. This stays between you and me, you have my word."

Did he really mean that? Why would he do something for me without asking anything in return?

"Thank you," I said cautiously.

He nodded and gave me a reassuring smile.

"I noticed you glancing at the books," he said, suddenly changing the subject. "Do you read?"

"I…yes," I managed to say. "You have a very nice library."

"Thank you, I am quite proud of it."

"I can see why, I have never seen so many books."

He smiled.

"Feel free to look around. Hopefully you will find something interesting to read."

I hesitated, but his offer seemed sincere. Besides, it wouldn't have matter if he wouldn't be sincere; I still needed to make a long physical contact with him without him finding it strange or suspicious. Sure, that wasn't difficult at all. Well, I needed to start somewhere, as Kol so thoughtfully kept pointing out; I had been a damn expensive purchase. At first it had felt humiliating, but now I didn't really care anymore. This was what I had been trained for, to obey my owner, also known as my husband. Surely my teachers would be pleased if they could see me now.


	9. Forbidden

**Chapter 8**

**Forbidden**

Elijah couldn't really concentrate on his unfinished letter anymore, not when Lady Cassandra was in the same room with him. She was standing in front of one of the bookshelves, eyeing the books. Her back was turned, but he couldn't stop himself from observing her when she ran her fingers softly over some of the books before picking up one. King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table.

"Have you read that one?" he asked.

She turned to look at him before replying.

"No, I have not. Have you, my lord?"

"Yes, it was a good read."

"Oh. May I borrow this?"

"Yes, of course."

"Thank you; I will treat this with care." She paused and looked at the armchair in front of the fireplace. "I do not wish to bother you, my lord, but I was wondering if I may sit down for a moment? It's so peaceful here and I would love to start the book."

"Yes, absolutely," he replied. "You are not bothering me at all."

That wasn't completely true, he certainly didn't get anything done when she was here, but he definitely didn't want her to leave. There was something truly intriguing about her, but he forced himself to keep in mind that she was his sister-in-law. He could look, but he definitely could never do more than that.

"Thank you, my lord," she said politely and sat down. There was fire in the fireplace and it wasn't difficult to see how much she enjoyed the warmth. He remembered how her whole body had trembled with cold last night. They were both quiet for a while, she opened the book and he tried to get some work done. The silence didn't feel uncomfortable, but he was the one who spoke first.

"So… Do you miss Venice?"

She looked up.

"I miss some things, like the warmth."

"Yes, these castles can be quite cold. How about your family? I can imagine that it was not easy to leave your home."

Her expression didn't change, but he sensed some tension coming from her.

"My husband is my family now and my home is with him."

"I see. You enjoy traveling?"

"Not really," she admitted. "I am hoping that we will eventually settle down, but that is my husband's decision to make."

"Where would you like to settle down?" he asked.

She hesitated a brief moment before answering.

"I… I do not know. I would like to have a home and maybe a garden. But please do not get me wrong, I am not complaining, I am honored to be here."

"And we are honored to have you here," he replied. "I think everyone wants to have a home, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that."

She was quiet for a moment; he could have sworn that he saw sadness in her eyes. Perhaps she missed her family. Or Marco, whoever he was. Elijah would have liked to ask, but obviously she didn't want to talk about that, she had been worried that he would tell Kol about last night. Was Kol violent towards her? Elijah didn't want to believe that, but he couldn't know for sure, Kol had always been short-tempered and unpredictable.

"Do you have a big family?" he asked in order to change the subject into something more pleasant. Judging by her tension, he hadn't succeeded.

"I have four brothers and three sisters," she replied rigidly.

"Ah. Getting married must have been quite a change for you then."

"Yes, it was."

She looked exhausted all the sudden, like a person who was carrying some heavy burden. For some incomprehensible reason he felt the need to wrap his arms around her, just like last night. There was something about her that made him feel protective. Of course that was wrong and he would never cross any lines, but perhaps he could at least offer her his friendship. She was a part of the family after all. His brother's wife. His sister-in-law. That was what he kept repeating to himself.

"How about you, my lord?" she suddenly asked. "You are not married?"

"I was once, a long time ago," he replied. "She died."

"Oh. I am sorry."

"Thank you. As I said, that was a long time ago."

He had been a young human back then and she had been his whole world. His beautiful Ingrid. A delicate frame, blonde hair, blue eyes, a smile that could light up the whole room. Actually, now when he thought about it, she had looked a lot like Lady Cassandra… The realization almost shocked Elijah; he couldn't help but to stare at her.

Was that the reason why he had felt drawn to her ever since he had seen her? No, that wasn't the only reason. Perhaps they had some similar features, but Lady Cassandra was also very different than Ingrid. And she was his brother's wife; once again he needed to remind himself of that fact.

"May I ask was she a vampire?" she asked.

Elijah shook his head.

"No, she was a human, we both were."

She looked a little surprised.

"Oh. Again, I am sorry for your loss."

"Yes, she truly was something special."

Strange, Elijah hadn't talked about Ingrid for a very, very long time. He really wasn't sure why he was talking about her now, but somehow it felt natural with Lady Cassandra.

"It is never easy to lose a loved one," she said quietly. It wasn't difficult to see that she knew what she was talking about.

"No, it is not. Time may ease the pain, but…"

"You will never forget," she finished.

They were both quiet after that; she bowed her head when he observed her.

"Who did you lose, my lady?"

"It does not matter," she muttered. "That was another life."

"I understand," he replied calmly. "And I too am sorry for your loss."

Slowly she looked up and met his gaze.

"Thank you."

Her lips curved into a very cautious and clumsy smile, but it made her look even more beautiful. In fact, he had never seen anything so beautiful in his life.


	10. Her smile

**Chapter 9**

**Her smile**

"Leave us," Kol said to Cecily as soon as he had marched in. She had just been brushing my hair; I was sitting at the dresser.

"My lord," Cecily muttered timidly and curtsied before leaving.

"Well?" Kol asked as soon as she had closed the door behind her.

"I am afraid I have nothing to tell you yet, my lord," I replied.

His eyebrows furrowed.

"You have nothing to tell me? You spent the whole day with Elijah."

I was very careful to keep my face free from emotion; I couldn't let him see what was going on inside my head. The whole thing was very confusing and I was most definitely an idiot, but this day had been the happiest one I have had for a very long time. There was just something sincere about Kol's brother, his presence made me feel calm and peaceful. No, I couldn't feel like that, I definitely couldn't.

"I told you I need a physical contact," I replied. "He would have certainly found it strange if I would have suddenly wanted to hold his hand."

"Yes, I suppose so," Kol huffed. "Do you have a plan then?"

"I… I believe I need to spend some more time with him. Become his friend."

Kol looked amused when he glanced at me; I saw his face through the mirror.

"His friend?"

"It is acceptable for friends to touch each other, is it not?" I replied calmly.

He grinned and moved behind my back, his fingers started to play with my hair.

"Yes, you make a good point. And… I must say that you look different this evening, darling," he stated.

"Different, my lord?"

He bent down and sniffed my hair.

"You look nice. Is that a new nightgown or have you done something with your hair?"

"No, my lord, there is nothing different about me."

I kept my tone neutral, he observed me for a moment before taking a step back.

"Well, you are certainly as warm as ever," he snorted. "I suppose it would be useless to ask what you would think about having some marital fun tonight."

"It is your right," I replied rigidly. "May I just have a moment to get ready…"

"You mean lie down on your back like a corpse? What man wouldn't want that?"

"I apologize if I have failed to satisfy you, my lord," I muttered icily. "As I have said, I am sure there are plenty of women you would find more desirable."

He rolled his eyes; it wasn't difficult to see that he was annoyed.

"What is your problem with intimacy?" he snapped. "You would like it if you would not act like some frigid."

For a moment I wanted to say what I really thought. Every time I allowed him to touch me I felt that I was betraying Marco, how could I enjoy that? He hadn't been dead even a month when my father had sold me to Kol. Somehow I had found the strength to get through our wedding night, although I had been on the brink of tears the whole time.

But to be fair, it hadn't been Kol's fault; he hadn't been rough or caused me any unnecessary pain. He just hadn't been the man I was supposed to spend my wedding night with. I knew I was a bad wife for not trying harder, but his behavior certainly didn't help. He wasn't a patient or compassionate man and I didn't expect him to be, but he would just have to accept that I on the other hand wasn't like the harlots he spent his time with in taverns.

"I apologize," I stated coldly. "Do you wish me to fulfill my duty tonight?"

"As tempting as that sounds, I believe I will pass," he snorted. "I prefer a real woman."

I suppressed a smile, if he thought that would hurt my feelings, he was wrong.

"Yes, my lord certainly deserves someone better than me."

He looked annoyed, but he waved his hand carelessly.

"Anything I need to know?"

I shook my head.

"No, there is no threat. Enjoy your evening."

* * *

"So, did you know about vampires when you met my brother?" Elijah asked. He and Lady Cassandra were walking in the garden, enjoying the morning sun. She was most definitely enjoying it; her pale skin was practically glowing. Her hair was up and she was wearing a light purple gown, she looked beautiful. Stop it, right now.

"Yes," she replied. "I knew about the whole supernatural world."

"Really? How so?"

She hesitated for few seconds before replying.

"My father is a warlock."

He had to admit that he was surprised.

"Are you a witch?"

She shook her head.

"No, in our family, only the male descendants can inherit those powers."

Elijah had never heard anything like that, according to his knowledge, the women usually possessed more magic, although there were some quite powerful warlocks as well.

"Your brother had quite a reputation in Venice," she continued.

"Yes, I can imagine. And you met at your father's birthday celebration?"

"Yes."

"Was it your wish to marry him?" Elijah asked before he managed to stop himself. "No, no, forgive me, I did not mean to say that."

She was quiet for a brief moment before replying.

"Our marriage was arranged, but that does not make me any less loyal to my husband."

"No, of course not," he muttered, cursing his temporary lack of self-control. "Forgive me, I did not mean to offend you, I am not usually so ill-mannered."

She kept her eyes down, but he noticed the little smile she hid behind her hand.

"You did not offend me, my lord," she assured.

They were both quiet for a moment; she took a deep breath and raised her head, like she would have tried to absorb as much sunlight as possible. Clearly the warmth made her happy.

"You have a beautiful garden," she said.

"Thank you. Did you have a garden back home?"

There it was again, the tension. It seemed that her home and her family weren't pleasant topics for her.

"Yes," she replied simply. "Have you lived here for long?"

"Yes, for a while. England is not so bad after you get used to the rain and the winters."

She shivered and wrapped her arms around her.

"I do not think I could get use to them."

"You do not like cold."

She shook her head.

"Who would? I truly wish that my husband…"

She didn't finish her sentence, it seemed that she regretted for even starting it.

"Never mind, forgive me for saying foolish things."

"I do not think you have said anything foolish," he argued. "Hopefully my brother knows how lucky he is."

Her eyes widened and she broke into a snigger, but that made her to immediately hide her mouth with both hands.

"Forgive me," she muttered. "I did not mean…"

"It's alright," he assured. "May I ask why that was so funny?"

She bit her bottom lip and lowered her head.

"I…"

She didn't seem to know how to continue, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.

"You should not hide your mouth when you smile or laugh," he said, wanting to help her to change the subject.

"I do not usually smile or laugh," she muttered. "I apologize…"

"No," he interrupted her firmly. "You most certainly do not have to apologize. You have a lovely smile, my lady. And I would not mind hearing you laughing again."

He could sense her confusion; she blinked few times before looking up. Her blue eyes were looking at him cautiously; clearly she wasn't sure what to think. She had felt a lot of pain in her life; he could see that in her eyes. All he wanted to do was cup her face and taste those perfect lips… What the hell was he doing? He cleared his throat and took a step back.

"Perhaps you would like to see the rest of the garden and the pond?"

"Yes," she replied, her tone was casual. "I would love to."


	11. Jealousy

**Chapter 10**

**Jealousy**

2 days later

"So," Nik started and took a sip out of his wine goblet. "Where is your lovely wife?"

"How would I know?" Kol huffed and leaned back on the armchair. The redecorated parlor looked quite nice. "Probably taking a walk or something."

"With Elijah?"

"Maybe."

"Hmm. I saw them sitting in the garden yesterday."

Kol raised his eyebrows.

"So what?"

"Nothing," Nik replied innocently. "I am just a little… surprised. They have seemed to spend a lot of time together."

"Again, so what?" Kol asked sharply.

Nik smiled.

"Nothing if you do not have a problem with that."

"Why would I have a problem with her spending time with Elijah?" Kol snorted. "She told me that they talk about literature and other boring things."

"Yes, I am sure you are right."

"Of course I am."

Nik's implications were just ridiculous, although Kol had to admit that Cassandra certainly hadn't rejected the idea of befriending with Elijah. Kol hadn't paid much attention to her during the last two days; he had been too occupied with his own amusement. Perhaps Nik was an asshole, but he knew how to have fun and that was something Kol appreciated. That didn't mean that Kol would have trust his brother at all and he wanted Cassandra to focus on Nik as soon as she would be finished with Elijah.

She had explained to Kol that she couldn't guarantee anything, not in a situation like this. Basically all her abilities were channeled to the link between them; that was what he had paid for. She would always know if he was in danger or if anything was threatening him. Her father had told him that the link would take its toll on her, it weakened her physically.

He doubted that she knew that, she only noticed the weakening when she needed to look for detailed images. Doing what he was asking would probably be very hard for her, but it needed to be done. Kol was thinking about the whole thing pragmatically, he needed this information in case something would happen to Cassandra.

Perhaps she was a clairvoyant, an oracle, or whatever her kind was called and she wouldn't age, thanks to the link, but her body was vulnerable, she could be killed. She had warned him that the future was never completely clear; any small thing could change everything. She truly was an intriguing creature, too bad she was unable to relax.

"Well, it's nice how much you trust your wife," Nik stated. "Good for you, I probably would not let someone like her out of my sight, even if she is just a plaything to you."

"Oh please," Kol snorted. "This is the noble Elijah we are talking about; do you honestly think that he would ever try to touch someone else's wife?"

Kol was getting bored with this; Nik had no idea what he was talking about. First of all, there definitely wasn't anything romantic between Cassandra and Elijah, just some boring conversations, second of all, Cassandra was doing what he had wanted her to do, even though the whole thing was taking longer than he had thought, third of all, she hated intimacy, so there was no chance she would ever even touch some other man and fourth of all, why would he care, he certainly wasn't jealous of her. Yes she was his wife, but that was nothing more than a formality. She was nothing more to him than a useful tool.

"Yes, yes, you are right," Nik said and grinned. "I am curious about something. She does not really seem like your type, she is so… tiny, not like the women you usually choose."

"She has plenty of pleasant qualities," Kol replied. "Believe me."

"Really? How is she in bed?"

Kol frowned.

"Watch it, brother. You are talking about my wife."

"Since when have you been a gentleman?" Nik chuckled. "Come on, tell me something."

"You wish," Kol huffed. "All I will say is that I dare you to find more firm breasts. And her mouth… Let's just say that she knows how to use it."

Nik grinned.

"Oh, very nice."

If only… Kol suppressed a snort, there was no chance he would ever let anyone to know the truth, his wife was unable to feel pleasure. The thought annoyed him a lot, but her flaws weren't his fault. No, definitely not. He had slept with thousands of women and all of them had enjoyed it, there had been no doubt about that. There simply was something wrong with Cassandra; that was the only reasonable explanation.

Yet he had to admit that the little incident three nights ago probably hadn't helped. He had been too drunk to think clearly and truly comprehend her reluctance, he doubted that she would have ever lose control like that if she wouldn't have been very distressed, perhaps even frightened. The thought made him feel unpleasant, even though she was his wife; he had every right to claim her body.

Not that he had wanted to do that lately, it wasn't very pleasant when the other person wasn't participating at all. Maybe he had simply pressured her too much; he had never bothered to truly be patient with her and find out what she thought and how she liked to be touched. He knew that she was trying her best to be a good wife for him, so maybe he should make some kind of effort, some nice gesture. There had to be something more in her then the ice princess.

Well, since they would likely be together for a long time, he should at least try to melt some of that ice. Alright, some nice gesture… How difficult could it be? He could give her some jewelry, but she didn't seem to care about those. How about books? She liked those, but he had no idea what she had already read. How about a massage? That actually sounded like a good idea, perhaps she would even relax. Just a massage, she wouldn't have to do anything for him in return.

He could even spend the evening in their chamber tonight and have a conversation with her. Something like that really wasn't his thing, but it was time for him to learn something about her. As strange as it was, he had to admit that he didn't know much about her, even though they had been together for few months. He excused himself and went to look for her; she was probably in the garden with Elijah.

Apparently he had guessed right, he saw them sitting on the stone bench, they were concentrated on their conversation. Then something happened, something he had never heard before. She was laughing. He had never even seen her smiling. Now she laughed and leaned closer to Elijah, softly touching his arm. He was smiling at her and looking at her warmly. She looked at him the same way; Kol had never seen that kind of look in her eyes.

There was no trace of the ice princess when she looked at his dear brother. Kol couldn't do anything except stare at them; something very dark was slowly building up inside him. His. She was his. His wife. How dared she! He wasn't capable of rational thinking, he was furious. Somehow he managed to turn around and march back to the castle. This certainly wasn't over.


	12. Faking it

**Chapter 11**

**Faking it**

I sensed that something was wrong with Kol when he pulled out a chair for me and smiled while helping me to take a seat. He had insisted me to participate in dinner tonight; usually I ate in our chamber.

"Here you are, darling," he said politely.

"Thank you, my lord," I replied cautiously.

Rebekah was already sitting at the table, she seemed absentminded. Elijah and Klaus had stood up when Kol and I had entered the dining room, dinner was already served. I avoided looking at Elijah, although his presence made me feel good. The last two days had gone by too fast; I knew that this couldn't go on for much longer. I probably could have already looked for the information Kol had wanted me to find, but I hadn't done that, I didn't want my time with Elijah to be over yet.

He had reminded me how it felt like to smile and laugh, I truly cherished our conversations. Yes, it probably was wrong, but I hadn't done anything inappropriate. Maybe I had wanted to, but I never would. Not that it mattered; soon I would have to find some way to befriend with Kol's other brother. I didn't like the thought at all, not after everything I had seen. He was everything Kol had said he was and I doubted that he would simply let me to hold his hand.

I wasn't going to sleep with him; Kol couldn't ask me to do that. Well, he could, but I thought in that case I had the right to say no. Hopefully I could dawdle at least few more days before having that conversation. I kept my eyes on my dinner and ate silently while Kol chatted with his siblings.

"Thank you," I said when a servant poured me some more wine.

Carefully I glanced at Elijah, he smiled at me before quickly turning his head away when he noticed Kol staring at him.

"My wife is lovely, is she not?" Kol asked charmingly.

"Yes," Elijah replied calmly. "She is. You are very lucky, brother."

Kol smiled and touched my hair; I had a very bad feeling about this.

"Yes, she is lovely, but do you know what else she is? Expensive. The most expensive purchase I have ever made."

All his siblings were staring at me now; I had to struggle to keep my face free from emotion.

"Husband, please…" I tried quietly, but it was no use, he was just getting started. Apparently I had somehow angered him and he had found a new way to punish me.

"You bought her?" Klaus asked, he seemed curious.

"Yes," Kol replied cheerfully. "Her father was more than willing to sell her; she had been trained to please her master. As I said, she was expensive, but I have gotten value for my money."

He ran his thumb over my lips while he spoke; I forced myself to hold still.

"However, I would like to earn some of the money back and you mentioned how much you appreciate her appearance, so would you be interested in buying her services for one night?"

I had thought that nothing could affect me anymore, but I had been wrong, the humiliation made a flush rise in my cheeks.

"What do you say, Nik? How much would you pay?"

I refused to look at Kol's brother, but I felt his eyes on me.

"Well…"

"Kol," Elijah said icily. "Enough."

"No need to worry, brother, you will have your turn right after Nik," Kol replied smiling. "Assuming you are willing to pay. Come on, darling, stand up and take your gown off, I am sure my brothers want to see the merchandise before making an offer."

"Stop it, Kol," Elijah demanded.

I knew that he was trying to help, but I could tell that he was making Kol even angrier, although he was smiling. At least I knew now why Kol was angry at me, even though it didn't make any sense; he had wanted me to become Elijah's friend.

"I gave you an order, darling," he said and yanked me to my feet. "Clothes off."

"Of course, my husband," I replied icily before Elijah managed to intervene, I didn't want this to become any uglier than it already was. "But may I just say that it is rude to ask your brothers to pay, they are family, surely I will serve them for free."

His eyes narrowed, but I kept my head high and calmly took the pins that was keeping my hair up out. That made my hair fall down around my shoulders.

"I need some help with my corset," I stated and turned to look at Kol's brothers. "Gentlemen?"

Kol grabbed my arm and started to drag me out; it wasn't difficult to tell that he was furious. I had to struggle to keep up with him, but he didn't slow down before we were in our chamber. He didn't say anything; he just started to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, apparently trying to calm himself down. I sat down on the bed, waiting for him to be finished.

What would happen after that, I had no idea. Sure I could look, but why bother, sometimes it was better not to know. For a moment I wanted to pretend that everything would be alright, he wouldn't pass me off to his brothers like a whore. How could I endure that? I could only pray that he hadn't meant it; he had just wanted to punish me by humiliating me.

He had certainly succeeded; I didn't even want to imagine what Elijah thought of me now. Losing the short moments I had shared with him hurt more than I wanted to admit, but I had known all along that they wouldn't last for long. The whole thing had been like a pleasant dream, but unfortunately this was my reality.

"Did you sleep with Elijah?" Kol asked coolly, he had suddenly appeared in front of me.

"No, my lord, I did not," I replied, matching his tone. "I only followed your orders…"

"I saw you," he snapped and yanked me to my feet. I didn't even try to move when he grabbed my chin and forced me to look into his eyes. He knew that I was immune to compulsion, but that wasn't what he tried to do; he probably wanted to show me how displeased he was. Why, I really couldn't understand.

"You like him?" he asked coldly. "Of course you do, everyone love the noble Elijah, even my ice princess who have never even smiled at her own husband."

He couldn't be serious; this had to be some twisted joke. When had he ever given me any reason to smile?

"If my lord wishes I can fake a smile for you," I said before I managed to stop myself. "I have got used to faking all kinds of things."

I regretted those words immediately, but it was too late to take them back. His eyes darkened, the black veins started to show.

"I am sorry…"

"You like faking, do you?" he snarled. "Fine then. Before the sun rises, you will get all the information I need from Nik, no matter what it will take. If you fail, I will punish you the ways you cannot even imagine." He paused and smiled, revealing his fangs. "Am I making myself clear?"

My heart was pounding in my chest, but I refused to show him my desperation.

"Yes, my lord."

"Good." He parted my lips with his thumb before taking a step back. "Have fun, darling."


	13. Rest for the weary

**Chapter 12**

**Rest for the weary**

I felt nothing but anger when I marched across the hallway. My dear husband wanted information, so be it, he would have the damn information. I didn't allow myself to feel anything or stop and think about everything that had just happened; I would just get this done and make sure Kol would feel at least a small part of the humiliation he had caused me tonight.

"…tacky," I heard Rebekah's voice saying when I approached the dining room. "You two better not go along with this."

"Of course not," Elijah's voice replied, he sounded appalled.

"Nik?"

"What? Do you honestly believe that I have to pay for sex?"

"I do not care about that, but you will not take advantage of that girl."

"Of course not," Klaus snorted. "How nice of you to think so highly of me."

"I just cannot understand," Rebekah said. "Sure Kol can be an ass, but what did that girl do to make him act like that?"

"Why do you think that she did anything?" Elijah muttered tensely. "Kol had no right to treat her like that. In fact, I think I will have a word with him right now…"

"And make the matters worse?" Klaus huffed. "Come on, you know Kol better than that, he needs some time to calm down. Talk to him in the morning if you insist."

"Yes, I think Nik is right," Rebekah said. "For once."

"Vey funny, sister. In any case, as amusing as this family dinner was, I have better things to do."

"You are going to the village?" Rebekah asked.

"Probably. I need to get changed first."

That was all I needed to hear, silently I hurried to Klaus' bedchamber. I had a plan, but there was absolutely no guarantee that it would work. I would have to really lead him on and then hope that he would agree to stop after I would have gathered the information I needed. It was possible that he wouldn't stop, but that was a risk I was forced to take. I really couldn't allow myself to think about this, the fear would probably paralyze me.

If the worst case scenario would happen, if he wouldn't stop, I was afraid that it would hurt; he had no reason to go easy on me. Kol and I had slept together only three times, our wedding night included, and it hadn't been pleasant for me, but I imagined that this would be much worse. Not that it mattered, I had been through worse ordeals, physical pain I could take.

I had never been in Klaus' chamber before, but I knew where it was, I had memorized all the important places. Fortunately the door wasn't locked and there was no one inside. The chamber was bigger than mine and Kol's and it was just as luxurious. There were dozens of candles burning and I was happy to see that there was fire in the fireplace. I noticed an easel and several paintings on the walls, apparently he was an artist. Concentrate.

I walked over to the dresser and looked at my reflection in the mirror. Not good, I looked pale as a ghost. I ran my fingers through my hair few times, bit my lips in order to make them red and swollen and pinched my cheeks to give them more color. Hopefully this would do. A smile sounded necessary in a situation like this. I practiced it few times, but I wasn't sure how it looked, I had never seduced anyone.

The whole thought almost made me to burst into hysterical giggle, but I controlled myself better than that. I would just have to look at this as a task, nothing more. For a very brief moment I allowed myself to think about Elijah. If only it could be him… The thought of him touching me like that didn't feel so bad, even if he would see me as a prostitute, but there was no chance he would want anything to do with me, not after tonight.

I wouldn't get any information from him, but that was Kol's problem. I needed to concentrate and block everything else out; this was certainly the wrong time and place to feel anything. Quickly I turned to the door when I heard it opening; Klaus was clearly surprised to see me.

"Well…hello there," he stated.

"Forgive me the intrusion, my lord," I said and tried my best to smile. "I was hoping to have a word with you in private."

He raised his eyebrows and closed the door behind him. I forced myself to ignore the feeling of being trapped like an animal, instead I smiled even wider.

"What can I do for you?" he inquired, he seemed curious.

"Perhaps my lord would be so kind and offer me something to drink first?" I said and slowly moved towards one of the armchairs.

"Yes, certainly."

I sat down as gracefully as I could while he poured me and himself some wine.

"Thank you," I said smiling when he handed me a goblet.

"You are welcome."

He sat down opposite me and took a sip out of his goblet.

"Alright, let's make something clear right away," he started. "If my brother sent you here to…"

"No," I cut in. "He did not send me."

"Really? May I ask why you are here then?"

This was it, there was no turning back. Not that there ever had been.

"Well… As I said, I was hoping to have a word with you."

"About what?" he asked.

I blinked few times and lowered my head, trying to look shy.

"As you could see tonight, my husband can be quite… vulgar sometimes, but normally I do not care about that. Tonight however…" I paused and looked up. "This is quite personal; can my lord keep a secret?"

He grinned.

"Yes, of course."

"The thing is that my husband…" I paused and giggled. "I cannot believe I am telling you this… My husband is not a very good lover, he have never been able to satisfy me."

Klaus' eyes widened, he seemed to be speechless.

"Do not get me wrong, he does try, poor thing, he really does, but…" I sighed and shook my head. "For just once I would like to be with a real man, someone who is able to… you know, satisfy a woman. The truth is that I have been attracted to you ever since we met, I have even… dreamt of you." I paused and giggled like an idiot again. "When my husband offered me to you tonight… It was like a dream come true."

Every word made me sick to my stomach, but I also felt some kind of dark satisfaction, hopefully Klaus would repeat my words to everyone. Something told me that he wasn't very good at keeping secrets, especially in this case. I leaned towards him and tried my best to look seductive.

"So I was wondering… Could my lord be so kind and help me out?"

He stared at me for a long while before finally speaking.

"Let me get this straight. You want me to…"

"Yes," I cut in. "Very much so." I stood up and moved in front of him, he didn't say anything when I sat down on the armrest and softly touched his arm. "What do you say, my lord?"

"What does my brother say about this?" he muttered.

"You heard him, he does not mind," I assured and ran my fingers over his shoulder. "Do you think you could…"

I didn't have time to finish my sentence when he grabbed me; the next thing I realized was that I was on my back on the bed and he was hovering over me. The realization startled me, but I got over that quickly and forced a smile on my face.

"What kind of a gentleman would I be if I would not help a lady out?" he hummed and touched my cheek. Somehow I managed to giggle, although I felt the need to push him off of me.

"Do you think that we could…take it slow?" I asked. "I have always wanted to know how foreplay feels like."

His eyes widened.

"You have never had foreplay?"

I shook my head.

"As I said, my husband is not much of a lover."

He chuckled; I could already imagine him rubbing Kol's face in this. Hopefully I would be there to see that.

"Well, sweetheart," he said and cupped my breast through my gown. "You are certainly in for a treat."

"I am sure that I am," I managed to say. "Slowly, please, my lord."

"As the lady wishes," he hummed and started to kiss my neck. His hand was fondling with my breast while he slid his other hand under my hem. No, I couldn't do this… I had to. Block it out… His hand was stroking my thigh and his lips were touching my neck; that was more than enough physical contact. Alright…

I closed my eyes and lifted the shield I always kept on. I had to if I didn't want the visions to shatter my mind. It was the first thing my teachers had taught me and I had been more than grateful for that. I hadn't lifted the shield for a very long time; I didn't have to do that with Kol because of our link, but I didn't think this would be so different. I had never been so wrong.

When the first bloody and violent images started to fill my mind, I felt like my head would explode. There were too many of them, worth too many lifetimes. No, no, no… I couldn't control what I saw, it was like a dam would have been cracked and the masses of water were suffocating me. I couldn't do this; I needed to put the shield back on… To my horror I realized that I couldn't get in back on. No please no… The pain was unbearable, but my body was paralyzed, the weak sounds I managed to make sounded like moans to Klaus.

"You are so gorgeous, sweetheart," he muttered and kissed me. No, this couldn't be happening… I couldn't make it stop; the pain was getting worse and worse. Blood, death, people screaming… I couldn't even tell which one of the images were the past, the present and the future, not to mention being able to find anything among them. My head was on fire, I was sure that I would die. A single tear rolled down my cheek, but he didn't notice that, he was pulling my hem up. It didn't matter anymore, no pain could be worse than this.

"Cassandra?"

For a moment I was sure that I had imagined someone saying my name, but suddenly the pain stopped. Klaus was gone, but I still couldn't move.

"She came to me…" Klaus' voice said, but I barely heard him. I felt someone lifting me up and carrying me out. My whole body was trembling and I felt that my nose was bleeding.

"Cassandra?" a quiet voice said.

"I… I am going to be sick," I muttered. This person barely managed to place me on the floor when I fell down on my knees and started to throw up; I had never felt so sick in my life. He held my hair out of the way and rubbed my back until I was finished.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"I think so," I muttered weakly

He lifted me up again; I blinked few times and finally recognized him as Kol. I was too weak to say anything; silently I prayed that he wouldn't punish me tonight, I didn't think that I could take much more. His face was callous when he carried me to our chamber and placed me on the floor in front of the dresser. My legs were shaking so violently that I could barely stand.

"Lean on this," he said and guided me in front of a chair.

I felt him doing something behind my back; it took a moment before I realized that he was unlacing my corset. The thought of having sex with him right now was more than I could take; it brought tears to my eyes.

"Please…"

His fingers stopped moving and for a moment I was relieved. That didn't last for long; I could sense his anger when he ripped the corset open. He wasn't going to show me any mercy, why would he when this was the perfect opportunity to really make me suffer. My tears were probably like some kind of trophy to him, I had never before cried in front of him.

Now I was too weak to care, he could do whatever he wanted. With any luck I would pass out. He took my gown off, but didn't touch my undergarment; I made no attempt to fight him when he carried me to the bed. Tears were still coursing down my cheeks and I closed my eyes when he placed me on the bed. Hopefully he was enjoying this.

"I am aware that I have not given you much reason to see me as anything else than a monster," he stated tensely, making me to open my eyes. I looked at him cautiously when he placed a blanket over me. "However, I am not completely heartless." He paused and walked over to the fireplace. "Rest, Cassandra, we shall talk when you wake up."

His words made no sense to me, why would he suddenly show me kindness? Not that it mattered; I was smart enough to be grateful.

"Thank you, my lord."

His back was turned, but I saw him clenching his fists.

"Rest now."

I didn't need to be told twice, my eyelids weighted a ton. No more than a second later I was in a deep sleep.


	14. Like poison right from the start

**Chapter 13**

**Like poison right from the start**

Kol hadn't moved for a long while, he was sitting on the armchair and staring at his sleeping wife. She looked unnaturally pale and she was breathing heavily. He wasn't sure what had happened to her, but obviously things had gone very wrong, he had never seen her so weak. Not to mention he had never seen her so completely vulnerable. She had actually thanked him for not causing her more pain; she had really thought that he would use her body in a situation like this. But then again, why wouldn't she think that after everything he had done to her.

Seeing her like this, forced him to comprehend the consequences of his actions, whether he wanted to or not. He never felt remorse, why would he, but now… In a way everything had gone wrong from the beginning. At first he had tried to be polite, at least he thought so, but her coldness or stubbornness as he had seen it, had eventually annoyed him so much that he had become everything but polite. Making her to lose her perfect self-control and actually show him some feelings had become somewhat an amusement to him, as unpleasant as it was for him to admit it.

Eventually he had reached the conclusion that there simply was something wrong with her, he hadn't really seen her as a person anymore, just a tool. Yet he couldn't really explain the rage he had felt when he had seen her laughing with Elijah. All he had thought about was the beginning of their marriage, how he had tried to be kind to her, even if he wouldn't have had to be, and she had simply remained cold as ice.

He was usually never kind to anyone, so the rejection had bothered him much more than he wanted to admit. The failure had bothered him. He simply didn't fail and he had needed to believe that there was something wrong with her; she wasn't capable to feel like a normal woman. Unfortunately that wasn't the case; she had certainly felt something with Elijah. Yes, with Elijah, not with him. The whole thing was ridiculous, but unfortunately he was brutal like that, he didn't want other people to have something he couldn't have, especially if that something belonged to him.

They had first met in her father's study; she had been brought there in order for him to inspect the merchandise before finalizing the deal. He could clearly remember the first moment he had laid eyes on her; she had walked in with her head high and curtsied. Her father had told her to spin around, explained what skills she had been taught and asked did Kol want her to take her clothes off in order to make sure that there weren't any physical flaws that would decrease her value.

Her face had remained completely callous the whole time and she had looked almost defiant, definitely not submissive, although she had done everything her father had wanted her to do. Kol had immediately liked her appearance and he hadn't asked her to undress there, he had figured that she would be grateful for his consideration and simply worship him, like most women did. Was that arrogant, yes, but that was a part of his nature, he had got used to get what he wanted.

Women adored him, they always had. His pride, or more like his ego, hadn't been able to deal with a woman like her, but breaking her like this had never been his intention. What had he expected then after what he had done to her, not just tonight but many times before that? Obviously he had gone too far and he wasn't proud of it, he had simply let his anger to cloud his judgment. Unfortunately the damage was already done, even if he had come to his senses and went to look for her before something irreversible had happened.

Basically he had forced her to offer her body to Nik. Her fragile, petite body… The thought made him sick when he looked at her now, she certainly hadn't deserved that. Considering that he was the only man she had ever been with and she had some obvious issues with intimacy, the experience must have been terrifying to her. She was a person and she had feelings, he was forced to truly understand that now. Not to mention she was his wife and he was supposed to look after her in return for her services.

She had no doubt tried her best to be a good wife, although he imagined that this wasn't the kind of life she had hoped for. What had she hoped for then, he didn't know. Surely she had her reasons to act like the ice princess, but he had never bothered to find out what those reasons were. He stood up when her body started to tremble, apparently she was cold. Silently he moved next to the bed and placed another blanket over her. She didn't look so well, but he hoped that sleeping would help. Her visions weakened her, he knew that, but he had never seen her like this.

"Forgive me," he muttered, although he knew that he had no right to ask that. He felt the need to lie down next to her, but he didn't, instead he walked over to the armchair and sat down. This was certainly too little too late, but he wasn't going to invade her personal space. He would simply sit here and wait for her to wake up. At some point he closed his eyes, just for a moment, but when he opened them it was morning already. Something was wrong; he could tell that immediately when he looked at Cassandra. She was completely motionless and her breathing had got even heavier. No more than a second later he was next to the bed.

"Cassandra?"

He touched her cheek, only to notice that she was burning up.

"Cassandra? Open your eyes, darling."

He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, but there was no reaction.

"Cassandra!"

Something was very wrong, why didn't she wake up? Was she… No, she wasn't going to die; he wouldn't let that to happen.

"Wake up!"

Shaking her certainly didn't help, her body was completely limp. No, this couldn't be happening. What the hell was he supposed to… The knock on the door cut off his thoughts.

"Kol?" Elijah's voice said. "I need to speak with you."

"Not now!" he shouted, but the door opened either way.

"Yes, now," Elijah stated firmly. "And you better…"

Elijah didn't finish his sentence when he saw Cassandra.

"What have you done?" he asked, he sounded furious. "She might be your wife, but if you have laid a hand on her…"

"I have not," Kol snapped. "She… she is sick."

Elijah zoomed next to the bed and touched Cassandra's forehead. His expression tensed when he put two fingers on her pulse point.

"I can barely feel her pulse… How long have she been like this?"

"I am not sure," Kol muttered. "I… fell asleep."

Elijah's look was everything but friendly.

"She needs a healer, right now. I think one of Niklaus' witches can help, her name is Yvonne. Go and tell Niklaus that we need her right away."

Kol was about to snap that he wasn't going anywhere, but Elijah was already sinking his handkerchief in a water bowl and wiping Cassandra's forehead with it.

"You will be alright," Elijah muttered. He was genuinely concerned, he cared about her. And she cared about him… Kol felt the same anger again, but this time he ignored it, she needed that damn witch. He zoomed out and went to look for Nik, although his brother was the last person he would have wanted to see right now. After a brief search, he found him in the parlor.

"Kol, I am glad you are here," Nik started. "I want to clear things out."

"Not now," Kol snapped.

"No, no, hear me out. About what you said last night, if you really are getting bored with your plaything, I would be interested in taking her off your hands. Just tell me how much you paid for her and I will double it. What do you say?"

Kol would have wanted nothing more than to attack his brother for daring to say something like that, but he would have certainly been a hypocrite and for once he needed to concentrate on someone else's wellbeing.

"She is sick," he hissed through clenched teeth. "I need your witch, Yvette or whatever her name is."

"Yvonne," Nik said. "How sick is she…"

"Just get me the damn witch!" Kol shouted and zoomed out before his brother had time to reply. Cassandra would be alright, she had to be.


	15. Don't die

**Chapter 14**

**Don't die**

Klaus shook his head after his brother had stormed out, some people just couldn't make up their mind. Oh well, he should call for a servant to find Yvonne…

"Pig!" Rebekah's voice suddenly snapped, she appeared in front of him and shoved him.

"What do you think you are doing?" Klaus asked, he certainly didn't hide his annoyance.

Rebekah glared at him angrily.

"I heard you; you tried to buy that girl."

"I tried to help her," Klaus huffed. "You saw how Kol treated her last night."

"Right and you are the knight in shining armor," Rebekah snorted. "You wanted to help her out of the goodness of your heart."

"No, but I can offer her a better life as my mistress. She likes me and I can guarantee that she would be much happier like that."

"She likes you?" Rebekah repeated. "Are you serious?"

"Those are her own words. She came to my chamber last night and believe me, she really, really likes me."

Rebekah's nostrils flared, she looked repulsed.

"You are just as bad as Kol and just as blind. You are not the one she likes."

Klaus frowned.

"What?"

"Never mind," Rebekah snorted. "Kol said that she is sick, so you better find that witch of yours."

With that she marched out. Klaus rolled his eyes; she didn't know what she was talking about. The girl most definitely wanted him and he wanted to finish what he had started with her. Her body was simply gorgeous and she had tasted delicious, he could most definitely pay for her. For her own good, of course. She would have an official position as his mistress, he would take care of her needs and most of all treat her much better than Kol did. She would no doubt be happy here.

* * *

Elijah waited impatiently for the witch to finish her examination; she had been behind the bed curtains for a while. Yvonne was in her mid twenties, she was calm, not very talkative and she was specialized in healing potions and herbs, but that didn't make her any less ruthless or vicious and she was most definitely an opportunist. That was probably the reason why Niklaus liked her, they shared a bed occasionally. Elijah was standing in front of the fireplace with his arms crossed and Kol stood in front of the window, looking outside. Neither of them had spoken a word after Yvonne had arrived. Finally she opened the bed curtains.

"She seems to have a nasty flu," the witch stated. "There is no sign of the plague or consumption or anything like that, but she is in a bad shape, I need to get her body temperature down."

"What do you need?" Elijah asked immediately.

"A cold bath," she replied.

Kol was about to say something, but Elijah spoke first.

"She is very sensitive to cold, is that a problem?"

"What?" Kol said. "How do you…"

"Surely you knew that about your _wife_," Elijah interrupted him icily and concentrated on the witch. She looked thoughtful.

"How sensitive?"

"Very. I am concerned that her body will go into a shock."

"Yes… That is possible, but I would say that we still need to get her body temperature down, right now the fever is a bigger risk to her life."

Elijah nodded.

"Alright, I will arrange the bath right away."

"Hey!" Kol snapped. "That is not your decision to make, she is my wife!"

Elijah turned to look at him; he had absolutely no patience left.

"How many siblings does your wife have?" he asked coldly.

Kol's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

"You heard me, how many siblings does she have? What are their names? What is her favorite book? What was the name of the pony she loved when she was a child? What is her favorite flower? What is her dream? What instrument does she hate to play? What have caused her grief? What makes her happy? I doubt that you know the answer to any of those questions and you have known her for, what, few months? I know the answer to all of those questions and why, because I bothered to listen to her." Elijah paused and glared at his brother, he didn't care if he sounded cruel. "She is a sweet and very intelligent young woman and any man would be lucky to have her, but not you, no, you treat her like she would be worthless, nothing more than your toy. You do not deserve her."

An ominous silence followed his words; Kol's face was completely callous.

"And you do?" Kol asked icily.

"I am not saying that, but she most definitely deserves someone better than you."

"Well, that's too bad because she is stuck with me," Kol hissed. "She is mine!"

Yvonne cleared her throat, she seemed bored.

"With all due respect, my lords, she won't be anyone's soon if I do not get her body temperature down."

"Then do it!" Kol snapped.

"The bath," she huffed.

Elijah didn't hesitate; he zoomed out to get some cold water. Kol was right behind him; together they filled the bathtub quickly.

"Good, put her in there," Yvonne said.

Kol zoomed next to the bed and carefully scooped her up, she looked very sick and she was barely conscious.

"Be careful," Elijah muttered. She looked so fragile, like a light touch could break her.

Kol pressed his lips together, but he didn't say anything; he simply carried her next to the bathtub.

"Tell her what is going to happen," Elijah said.

"I do not need your advice!" Kol snapped and bent down. "Alright…"

Her eyes flew open when he put her in the cold water; she was screaming and struggling in panic.

"Cassandra! Cassandra, stop, it's alright!"

"Hold her still," Yvonne said.

Elijah zoomed on the other side of the bathtub and cupped Cassandra's face.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he said calmly. "I know you are scared and hurting, but we must do this in order to save your life. Please try to hold on for a little longer. Can you do that for me?"

She let out a sob, but she stopped struggling and reached for his hand.

"Don't leave me…"

"I won't, I promise."

He took her hand between his owns, ignoring the cold anger in his brother's eyes. Kol's arms were still around her, although he didn't need to keep her in place anymore.

"That's enough," Yvonne said when Cassandra started to shake. Kol lifted her up immediately.

"Take her wet clothes off," Yvonne continued.

"I bet you want to do that," Kol stated venomously.

"Oh, I don't know," Elijah replied coolly. "How much would I have to pay?"

Kol's eyes narrowed; clearly Elijah had hit the nerve. It wasn't his nature to take pleasure in such ignoble things, but in this case he made an exception. He had meant what he had said; his brother didn't deserve this girl. Kol glared at him and carried her back to the bed. Angrily he closed the bed curtains before Elijah heard a ripping sound.

"Elijah…" she muttered. "Elijah…"

It took a moment before Kol opened the bed curtains and marched to the door, there was no expression on his face.

"You want to be her caretaker, fine, but know that you will never have her, she is mine."

Elijah didn't say anything; he turned to the bed after Kol had marched out.

"Well…" Yvonne stated, Elijah had forgotten her completely. "I need to go and get some herbs for her; can my lord watch her while I am gone?"

"Yes, of course," Elijah muttered. "Anything I need to know?"

"Not really, you can wipe her skin with a wet cloth if that is necessary and make sure that her heartbeat and breathing remains steady. I will be right back."

"Alright, thank you."

Elijah opened the bed curtains and saw that Cassandra had curled into a fetal position under the covers, her whole body was shaking.

"Cassandra?"

Carefully he sat down on the edge of the bed and touched her forehead. She was still warmer than normally, but she wasn't burning up anymore.

"Elijah…" she muttered weakly.

"I am here. Everything will be alright."

He stroked her cheek until she grabbed his wrist and squished it with her shaky hands.

"I… I cannot care…" she muttered. "Marco… I cared about him and he…he died because of me."

"I am sure that is not true," Elijah said calmingly and stroked her hair with his other hand.

"It is… His…his head and his heart… on a silver tray… Because of me."

"Who did that?"

Elijah truly hoped that it hadn't been Kol.

"My…father. He…he wanted to…punish me."

"I am so sorry," he said quietly.

"Don't…die," she muttered and sighed before closing her eyes.

He kept stroking her hair after she was asleep, he would have wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and keep her safe. If only he could… Unfortunately his brother had been right about one thing. She would never be his.


	16. Till death do us part

**Thank you so much for all the reviews, favs and alerts. This is not going to be a "traditional" love triangle, no simple solutions, and some of you will probably hate the ending I've planned for this story, but I hope you'll bear with me :) Warning, there's some mild mature content in the beginning of this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

**Till death do us part**

"Oh God! Oh God!" the woman moaned, sinking her nails into Kol's shoulders. She had blondish hair, pretty face and petite body structure, the only thing that wasn't right were her eyes, they were pale green. It didn't really matter, she was still close enough. Usually he preferred more full bosomed women, but right now she was perfect. Maybe she was a prostitute, but she certainly wasn't faking, she was approaching her third climax.

"Say it," he snarled and slammed into her harder, making her to cry out.

"I want you! I need you…oh God!"

He fastened his pace when she climaxed, but he was too angry to feel any satisfaction. Who the hell did Elijah think he was, Cassandra wasn't his wife! Maybe Kol would have known the answers to those questions if Cassandra would have talked to him. And he did know the name of her oldest brother, it was Bartholomew, or something like that, who cared.

Why had she told all those things to Elijah when he, her husband, barely got a hello from her? And most importantly, why the hell did he care? So what if she liked the perfect Elijah, just like everyone else. Why had he felt such a nasty sting when she had said his brother's name? Why was everything so damn messed up? He was finally done after one last thrust. The woman under him was panting heavily, she was exhausted. He rolled on his back beside her and carelessly stared at the ceiling.

"Oh, my lord," she muttered. "That was…"

"Yes, I know," he huffed. Unfortunately satisfying his second primal need today hadn't helped him at all. First he had fed, but killing a whole group of king's men in the middle of the road after storming out the castle hadn't soothed him any more than shagging this little surrogate. When neither blood nor sex helped, he knew that the situation was bad.

"What is troubling you, my lord?" the woman asked.

"Nothing I care to talk about," he replied carelessly.

"Alright, as you wish, my lord. But may I just say that this Cassandra is a very lucky woman…"

"What?" he snapped and turned to look at her. "How do you know her name?"

"You…you said her name during…"

His eyebrows furrowed.

"What? I did not…"

Had he said her name? Great, just perfect. But then again, he had just shagged a woman just because she reminded a little bit of her. That was just…pathetic. Cassandra had never shown in any way that she would enjoy any kind of intimacy, why would he fantasize about her? The answer was simple really; despite of everything that had happened between them, she meant something to him.

The whole marriage thing hadn't been more than a formality to him, her loyalty had been all he had cared about, but perhaps he had secretly hoped for something more. It was pathetic and he certainly would have never admitted it to anyone, but he had always hoped for something similar than what his siblings had; someone who would watch his back and stay with him no matter what.

He was aware that he had plenty of flaws, including a short temper and cruelty, but to be fair, Nik was no different and yet Bekah and Elijah always forgave him. Kol had always felt like an outsider with his siblings and he had got used to be alone. When Cassandra's father had explained to him how the link between them would work, he has had some serious doubts. The whole thing was irreversible and the link wouldn't break unless one of them would die.

That was the most important reason why he had actually made an effort in the beginning; he had hoped that her loyalty would eventually be willing. Then everything had gone wrong and his hurt pride had refused to care anymore what she thought of him. She probably hated him, especially after everything that had happened with Nik, but that didn't mean that he would simply hand her over to Elijah. No, maybe he was a terrible husband, but she was still his wife, in more ways than one.

After a cleric had wed them, although Kol hadn't really understood the point of that, Cassandra's father had performed the linking ceremony, which had truly bound them together till death. Maybe things hadn't been so well between them, but they had plenty of time to work everything out. They would start right after she would recover and she would eventually smile at him like she smiled at Elijah.

Sure it required some work after everything that had happened, but he had time. At least he knew now that she was capable of feeling something. He headed back to the castle after leaving from the brothel, he wanted to see her. Hopefully she was feeling better already. The sun was setting when he arrived at the castle; he had been away for hours.

"Are you sure about this?" he heard Nik's voice saying when he passed the parlor.

"Yes, I believe so," the witch's voice replied.

"Hmm, interesting…"

They both turned to the door when Kol marched in.

"Brother," Nik greeted him. "How is the lovely lady?"

"That is what I want to know," Kol stated, looking at the witch.

"Her condition is steady," she replied. "The fever has come down a little and the herbs I gave her should help her body to recover. Your brother is with her."

Kol turned around without saying a word; he had heard everything he needed to know.

"You are welcome," the witch huffed after him.

He headed straight to his chamber and was just about to open the door when he heard her screaming.

"No! No, let me go!"

He was inside in a fraction of a second and saw her struggling on the bed. Elijah was on top of her, holding her down.

"It's alright," Elijah hushed. "You are safe…"

"Get your hands off her!" Kol growled and yanked Elijah to his feet, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt. "You sick…"

"I was trying to help her," Elijah snapped. "The herbs are making her disoriented; I am trying to stop her from hurting herself."

Kol glanced at Cassandra over Elijah's shoulder, she seemed to be in panic, her arms and legs were moving uncontrollably.

"No!" she shouted. "No, father, no!"

He let go of Elijah and sat down on the bed.

"Cassandra?"

"No! Why, father?"

Tears were coursing down her cheeks; he cupped her chin and tried to make her to look at him.

"Cassandra?"

Her eyes widened when she looked at him.

"Marco?" she gasped. "You came back to me…"

He frowned, who the hell was Marco? She let out a sob and struggled to get into a sitting position; he took a hold of her arm and helped her.

"My Marco," she sighed and cupped his face. "I have missed you so much."

He didn't have time to think of anything to say when she kissed him. It was a real passionate kiss; she had never kissed him like that before. For a moment he forgot his annoyance, there seemed to be certain perks of being this Marco.

"My love," she muttered and wrapped her arms around him. "Can you ever forgive me?"

"Forgive you for what?" he asked.

She pulled away and cupped his face again; her eyes were filling with tears.

"You died because of me. You did not deserve that, your only mistake was to love me." She paused and let out a sob. "I did not deserve your love; I am a horrible, horrible person."

"No, you are not," he muttered.

"Yes, I am. Do you know what I did after my father showed me your decapitated head? Nothing, I just finished my dinner and then three weeks later I slept with the man my father sold me to."

Her sobs were becoming hysterical.

"I betrayed you and I was too much of a coward to fight. It should have been me, you never did anything to deserve that, you were a good person, too good for me. I deserve all the bad things that I get."

For a moment Kol was unable to speak, he had no idea what to say.

"Can you forgive me?" she sobbed pleadingly.

"Yes," he said as calmly as he could. "I forgive you."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do. I am in peace and happy, I want you to be happy too."

She hugged him tightly, but she was still sobbing.

"I do not deserve to be happy…"

Slowly her body went limp and her head fell against his shoulder.

"Cassandra?" he muttered.

She was breathing normally and her heartbeat was steady, carefully he laid her down on the bed and tucked her in.

"Why did you do that?" Elijah's voice suddenly asked, Kol had completely forgotten him.

"Do what?" Kol snapped without looking at his brother. "I was trying to calm her down…"

"That is not what I meant. How could you be so cruel and force the poor girl to sleep with you after she had just lost her…"

"This is none of your business," Kol snapped angrily. "But if you must know, I did not know about this…Marco."

"Oh come on, first of all you bought her like some object and why, for fun? Maybe the whole marriage thing is a fun game to you, but this is her life we are talking about. And second of all, you are not blind; surely you must have noticed that she was not ready to…"

"Again, none of your business."

Kol had no intention to have this conversation with Elijah; he didn't want to think about the whole thing. This certainly explained a lot, but he definitely didn't want to think about this. How the hell was he supposed to fix something like this?


	17. Betrayal

**Warning, there's some mature content in this chapter.**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

**Betrayal**

Venice, 6 months earlier

I didn't feel anything when I looked at my reflection in the mirror; a maid was finishing my coiffure.

"Do you understand what you need to do, girl?" Signorina Orsini, my head teacher, asked, she was observing me with her cold eyes. I had got used to that look ever since I had been a child; she had never smiled at me. She was a witch and a good friend of my father's, one of the few people he actually trusted.

"Yes, Signorina," I replied. "I do not speak unless I am spoken to."

"That's right. Kol Mikaelson is not known for his patience, you must not aggravate him in any way, not before your father has finished the negotiations with him. After that you can do whatever you wish, but I would advise you to please him if you want to make your life easier."

Easier… Sure. How easy would my life be with a vampire who was known for his cruel nature? Not that it mattered, I deserved to suffer.

"Thank you for your advice, Signorina."

She glanced at me carelessly and turned to the door when a servant informed her that my father wanted me in his study right away. It was time to meet my soon to be husband. Every part of me wanted to run or hide or anything, but instead I stood up and followed my teacher like a lamb to the slaughter. It was good that I was so dead inside; otherwise I probably couldn't have controlled myself so perfectly.

There was nothing left, no grief or pain, only the memories buried somewhere in the most private part of my mind. Marco's face, the sound of his voice, his warmth, his lips touching mine, the unconditional love in his eyes… I had never deserved any of that and now he was gone because of me. We would never build a life together; we would never have a home, children, a garden or anything we had talked about.

My father had said that I was a fool, would I have honestly chosen a life of a peasant instead of the wealth and luxury some lord could provide. Yes, I would have. After living my whole life in a golden cage, I would have chosen to spend the rest of my days with someone who loved me. I had been stupid and selfish and Marco had been the one who had paid the price. I most definitely deserved to suffer and I no doubt would with Kol Mikaelson.

Signorina Orsini made me to stop before we entered my father's study; quickly she inspected my appearance one last time. I was nothing more than merchandise; an object someone was about to buy, but that didn't make me feel anything. Still I wasn't going to crawl; I kept my head high when the servant opened the doors. My father was sitting at his desk and the other man on the armchair, they both rose from their seats when I entered the room.

"There she is," father said. "Cassandra, this is the lord Kol Mikaelson."

"My lord," I stated and curtsied.

He was observing me intently; his dark eyes scanned me from head to toes. I wasn't sure if he liked what he was seeing, but I doubted that my appearance would be a deal breaker, surely he wasn't buying me because of that. He was a handsome man, but he also looked very tall and rough, he was nothing like Marco who hadn't been much taller than me.

My sisters, who were all taller and more curvaceous than me, had often mocked me because of my modest frame; they had said that I wouldn't last a second with a real man. Perhaps they had been right, I wasn't stupid enough to think that Kol Mikaelson would be a kind or gentle man, losing my virginity to him would no doubt be painful. The whole thought made me sick to my stomach, but I would deserve everything I would get.

"Spin around," father ordered. "Let him look at you."

I obeyed; perhaps he would want to see my teeth next, just like people did when they were buying a horse.

"What do you think?" father asked. "I know she is not exactly your type, but I can assure you that she has some very good qualities."

Kol Mikaelson continued observing me, slowly his lips curved into a smirk.

"Such as?"

"She can manage all the skills of a lady, including etiquette and running a household, you can take her anywhere without fearing that she would embarrass you. And she can entertain your friends, she can play several instruments and…"

She can sit, she can fetch, she can do fun little tricks… That was really all I heard, I might have as well been a trained dog.

"Do you want her to take her clothes off? There are no major flaws, but if you want to see for yourself…"

"That won't be necessary," Kol Mikaelson replied and walked over to me. I didn't move when he took my hand and kissed it. "I believe I will save that for our wedding night."

"We have reached an understanding then?" father asked.

"Yes," Kol Mikaelson replied without turning his eyes from me, I wasn't looking at him. "I will give you what you are asking."

"Wonderful. I can perform the linking ceremony tomorrow night if that is not too soon…"

"No, it is not. If the lady agrees."

Slowly I looked up; we both knew that my opinion would make no difference, but I suppose it was considerate of him to pretend that it did.

"Of course, my lord."

"It is settled then," father said. "As I said, I must insist that a cleric weds you first, she is my daughter after all, not some common whore."

No, of course I wasn't a whore; I was a perfectly honorable woman who he was going to sell to a vampire. I wondered if he had any idea how ridiculous his logic was.

"Yes, that is fine." Kol Mikaelson paused and touched my cheek with his cold finger. Vampires were cold; the thought hadn't even crossed my mind, but I managed not to shiver. "Till tomorrow, darling."

"Yes. Good night, my lord."

* * *

I looked around in my bedchamber; I knew that I wouldn't see it again after tonight. The thought didn't really make me feel anything; I had been numb the whole day. First there had been the modest wedding ceremony, only father, Barnabas and Signorina Orsini had been there. My husband had seemed bored, but he had said the words the cleric had wanted him to say, he had promised me his protection and I had promised him my obedience.

Then there had been the wedding feast, all my siblings and plenty of other guests had participated, but I hadn't known most of them. Finally father had performed the linking ceremony in his study, it had been over fast. Kol and I had both cut our palm and joined our hands together while father had cast the spell. I had felt it working, but it still needed to be sealed.

Now I was standing in the middle of my bedchamber wearing a white nightgown. My hair was down and my skin had been washed with rosewater. The maids had lit up candles and prepared the bed, everything was ready for my husband. We had barely spoken a word to each other the whole day; my mind had been somewhere far away. I needed to block everything out if I wanted to survive for the night. None of this was right, I was about to betray the man I loved. Slowly I walked over to the window and looked at the starry sky. I was sure that Marco was there, looking down at me.

"Please forgive me," I muttered and suppressed a sob. I startled when the door opened, I needed to concentrate now. My husband was standing in the doorway; he glanced at me before stepping inside and closing the door behind him.

"Well… That was a long day."

"It was, my lord," I replied and moved away from the window. He walked over to the small table where the maids had left a wine carafe and two goblets.

"Drink?" he asked while pouring some wine for himself.

"No, thank you."

He emptied his goblet with two gulps and turned to look at me.

"I assume someone has explained to you what will happen now?"

I nodded; fortunately Signorina Orsini had corrected some of the information Barnabas had given me when I had been a child. Still she had made it clear that the whole thing would be painful and unpleasant; I would just have to endure.

"Good. Come here."

I forced myself to stay calm and obeyed; he took something out of his pocket. It was a sapphire necklace.

"For you," he said and kissed my hand. "A wedding gift."

"Thank you, my lord."

He observed me for a moment and ran his thumb over my bottom lip.

"No need to be nervous, you are in good hands, darling. It has been a very long time since I have slept with a virgin, but I promise to go easy on you."

"Thank you, my lord, I appreciate that."

He smiled and caressed my neck.

"So soft and warm…"

Fortunately his fingers weren't as cold as last night, but they weren't very warm either. He took a hold of the back of my neck and leaned down to kiss me. The kiss was very demanding, dominate, but it wasn't particularly rough, he was simply taking what he wanted. I hadn't got used to something like that; Marco's kisses had always been tender and loving. I remained stiff and unresponsive, but his tongue made me to open my mouth against his.

His arm around my waist was drawing me closer, I felt trapped. He probably wasn't trying to be intimidating, but he still was. Not just because he was a vampire or because he was much taller and stronger than me. He was a complete stranger and most importantly he wasn't Marco. Finally he was satisfied enough to pull away.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

I nodded, what else was I supposed to do. We needed to sleep together tonight, so it was best to just get it over with. I blocked all my thoughts and feelings out and raised my arms in order to help him to take my nightgown off. Somehow I managed to suppress the need to cover myself when he observed my naked body.

"You are beautiful," he stated, I could feel him staring at my humble breasts; he cupped them both with his hands and ran his thumbs over the tips. "These are beautiful."

"Thank you, my lord," I muttered, although I suspected that he was lying. Men liked big breasts; even I knew that much. He bent down and closed his lips over my nipple while his hand fondled with my other breast. Clearly he wanted some kind of reaction, but I couldn't give it to him, I couldn't enjoy this. That didn't stop my body from giving him some kind of reaction, both of my nipples were hard and I felt something between my legs. No, this was wrong, I couldn't do this.

"Relax," he huffed and lifted me up and carried me to the bed. I was nothing but stiff, clearly that started to annoy him. He continued playing with my breast and slid his hand between my legs. I tensed and pressed my lips together to hide the shame I was feeling when my body reacted to his touch.

"Relax," he ordered again, but I couldn't do that, no matter how hard he tried. How could I betray Marco like that? I didn't look at my husband when he finally started to undress and spread my legs.

"Are you ready?" he asked, a hint of annoyance clear in his voice.

I nodded and tried to brace myself, but still the sudden pain made me to gasp in shock.

"My apologies," he growled through pleasure. "Can you take this?"

Tears were burning behind my eyes, but I nodded.

"The pain will pass, I promise."

I took a hold on the bed sheets and prayed for this to be over. The pain wasn't the worst part, no; it was the feeling of the linking spell activating. It was like a rope around my neck, I was truly trapped now. I would be with this man forever or until one of us would die. Clearly he didn't feel what I was feeling, why would he when the link didn't work both ways. After few more thrusts he was finished, he kissed my forehead before rolling beside me.

"Are you alright, darling?"

"Yes, my lord," I muttered, I had to struggle for not to cry.

"No need to worry, the first time usually isn't much fun, but you will enjoy it more the next time. Come here…"

He tried to wrap his arms around me, but I pulled away, I really needed to be alone.

"Forgive me, my lord, but perhaps you could be so kind and sleep in your own chamber tonight. We have completed the task and I would like to get some rest, especially if we are still leaving tomorrow morning."

He was quiet for a moment; I didn't need to look at him in order to know that I had just made a mistake. Right now I was too exhausted to care, all I wanted was to be left alone.

"Fine," he stated coolly. "And yes, we are still leaving tomorrow morning."

"Alright, thank you, my lord."

Somehow I managed to keep myself together until he slammed the door shut behind him. After that I buried my face in the pillow, letting it to smother my screams and hysterical sobs. I cried and cried until there were no tears left, I was completely empty.

"I am so sorry, Marco," I muttered. "Please forgive me."


	18. She belongs to someone else

**Chapter 17**

**She belongs to someone else**

The pretty little lady wasn't a normal human. That was very interesting and Yvonne seemed to be sure about it. Klaus had to admit that he hadn't noticed anything abnormal about Kol's girl, but on the other hand, he had been much occupied during the only occasion he have been in close contact with her. There certainly hadn't been anything abnormal about her body.

Of course he could simply ask Kol about her, but he doubted that his brother would give him an honest answer, clearly Kol was hiding something. Well, there was an easy way to find out the truth. Fortunately Kol wasn't in his chamber, Klaus had seen him heading to the woods, but he still needed to get rid of Elijah. According to Yvonne, Elijah really liked this girl and not just as a friend.

Klaus thought that the whole thing was amusing, Elijah was usually very controlled, or more like boring, he didn't touch women who were spoken for. To Klaus such things didn't matter, when he saw something he wanted, he took it. He wasn't sure about Kol's plaything yet, but he would definitely find out what she was. As he had suspected, Elijah was in Kol's chamber, he was sitting on the armchair in front of the fireplace. The girl was asleep, she didn't look so well. Elijah looked up when Klaus entered the room.

"How is she?" Klaus asked.

"I am not sure," Elijah replied tensely. "Her fever has come down, but the herbs are making her disoriented."

"Ah. Where is Kol?"

Elijah pressed his lips together, he seemed even tenser.

"I have no idea."

Klaus glanced at the girl and suppressed a smile.

"Yes, why would he care about her wellbeing when she is just a plaything to him?"

Elijah didn't comment on that, but he didn't seem pleased at all.

"Anyway," Klaus continued. "Yvonne asked you to meet her in the witch's workroom; she has something important to explain to you."

"I am not sure if I should leave Cassandra…. Lady Cassandra by herself…"

"I can stay with her," Klaus offered innocently.

Elijah raised his eyebrows.

"I do not think…"

"I think I can keep her alive for few minutes," Klaus huffed. "She will be fine."

Elijah hesitated, but finally he agreed to let Klaus to look after her for a moment. If Klaus wouldn't have known better, he would have thought that Elijah was her husband; he was certainly acting like he would be. It was strange that Kol wasn't more possessive over the girl, according to Klaus' experience; he didn't like to share his toys, whether they actually meant anything to him or not. But then again, their relationship seemed to be quite weird with Kol trying to sell her and her spending time with Elijah and wanting to sleep with Klaus. Not a very typical marriage.

"Make sure that she does not hurt herself if she wakes up…"

"Yes, yes, I think I can manage," Klaus cut in.

"Alright, I will be right back."

Klaus waited until Elijah had left before approaching the bed. The girl was sleeping peacefully under the covers; he sat down next to her and touched her cheek.

"Alright, sweetheart… What are you?"

He leaned down and sniffed her neck, but he couldn't smell anything unusual. She sighed in her sleep when he raised her hand to his lips. Just a little taste. His fangs came out before he put her finger in his mouth. She flinched when he bit her fingertip and sucked few drops of her blood. Nothing unusual there either, although her blood was delicious. Interesting. Suddenly she opened her eyes and looked straight at him.

"Father…" she muttered.

He smiled and touched her cheek.

"That's right, my child, father is here."

She blinked few times and kept staring at him.

"Father…"

"I am right here, child," he hummed and stroked her hair. "You are my special girl, are you not? Tell father why you are so special."

"I…I have only one thing to say to you, father," she muttered weakly.

"Yes? Tell me."

"I…"

He leaned closer and cupped her face when she was about to lose consciousness.

"Tell me."

Despite of her exhaustion, there was hatred in her eyes.

"I…hate…you."

He raised his eyebrows, but she was already asleep again. He couldn't help but smile when he observed her face. Apparently the little lady had some father issues.

"Well… it seems that you and I have something in common," he hummed and ran his finger along the line of her hair. "We will certainly continue this later."

* * *

I felt terrible when I slowly opened my eyes. My head hurt and I was thirstier than ever before. What have happened? I tried to move my hand, but I couldn't. The realization scared me, I tried harder, but I couldn't move any part of my body.

"Cassandra?" Elijah's voice said before I saw his face. "How are you feeling?"

I tried to say something, but nothing came out, my mouth was too dry.

"Here," he said and carefully lifted my head. "Some water."

I started to cough immediately when I swallowed few drops; he lifted my head more and patted my back.

"Thank you," I said hoarsely. "What…what happened?"

"You were sick," he replied and laid me down on the bed. "You had fever; you were unconscious for almost two days."

"Two days?" I muttered. "How…"

Suddenly I started to remember, I had went to Klaus' bedchamber and… This wasn't good, I had failed completely. Kol would no doubt be furious.

"My husband… Is he here?"

"He was," Elijah replied, he sounded tense. "I am sure he will be back soon."

I looked at him and tried to understand why he was here. Surely I repulsed him after what I had done with Klaus.

"Have you…been here for long, my lord?" I asked cautiously.

He nodded.

"Almost the whole time."

"Why?" I asked before I managed to stop myself. "I mean…"

He smiled and briefly touched my arm.

"I was worried about you, my lady."

"You were worried about me?" I repeated like an idiot.

He nodded.

"Yes."

I had no idea what to say, I was sure that he didn't mean that the way I thought he did. He simply was a kind and compassionate person.

"Thank you for looking after me, my lord, you are very kind."

"Not really," he muttered. "Would you like to eat something? Some soup perhaps?"

I nodded, I was starving.

"Yes, please."

"Alright, just a moment."

He stood up and walked over to the door. I tried to get into a sitting position, but it was hopeless, none of my muscles were working. I had never felt so weak, like I would have been drained. Even though I knew that using my ability weakened me, I had never felt anything like this. But then again, I had never tried to do something like that before and I certainly never wanted to do that again.

Clearly I wasn't strong enough to truly control my ability, not with someone who had several lifetimes of past and future. It was different with Kol, our link made it easier to me, but I had never even tried to look very far ahead. The future was tricky, it was constantly changing and the further away I would look, the more uncertain and unclear my visions would become, not to mention the more exhausting it would be, physically and mentally.

Without my shield I would have surely lost my mind a long time ago; it had happened to many of my kind. Sometimes I had suspected that my sisters weren't completely sane, they didn't want to restrain their visions, mostly because they enjoyed the feeling of power too much.

"Here we are," Elijah said and placed a tray on the bedside table. "May I help you up?"

"I would appreciate that, my lord," I muttered, I felt embarrassed. Carefully he slid his hand under my back and helped me into a sitting position; I managed to lean forward while he gathered pillows behind me.

"Are you comfortable?" he asked when I settled among the pillows.

"Yes, thank you."

After few attempts I managed to lift my hand, but it was shaking uncontrollably.

"May I?" he asked discreetly. That didn't make me feel any less embarrassed, he would actually have to feed me like I would be a small child.

"I… If that is not too much trouble…"

"No, not at all," he assured and picked up the plate. Neither of us spoke when he scooped up some soup and brought the spoon to my lips. Despite of the awkwardness of the situation I opened my mouth immediately; I couldn't remember ever being so hungry.

"It is not too hot, is it?" he asked.

"No, it is perfect."

We were both quiet again, he continued feeding me and biting his bottom lip, he looked very concentrated. I couldn't help but smile.

"You are very good at this, my lord. Have you ever done this before?"

He shook his head.

"No, I have not."

I was about to continue with some foolish comment when I saw Kol standing in the doorway. There was no expression on his face, he was staring at me.

"My lord…" I muttered.

Elijah turned his head to the door; Kol marched in without paying any attention to him.

"Good, you are awake," he stated. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak," I muttered.

"I can see that." He paused and glanced at Elijah. "Brother, I would like to have a word with my wife."

"Perhaps you would allow her to eat first," Elijah replied.

"I am fine," I said quickly when Kol's eyes darkened. "Thank you very much, my lord."

"Please excuse us," Kol stated coolly.

Elijah stood up and placed the plate on the bedside table, although he seemed reluctant.

"Thank you," I said again when he headed to the hallway. Kol closed the door behind him and walked over to the bed.

"Are you still hungry?" he asked.

"Yes," I muttered.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and took the plate.

"You do not have to do that, my lord…"

"Yes, I am aware of that. Open up."

I couldn't understand why he was doing this, but I had no problem obeying, I could have eaten a whole pot of soup. His face was still blank, but he was surprisingly tender, his every move was careful.

"Better?" he asked after the plate was empty.

"Yes, thank you."

He was quiet for a moment and observed me.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

"I failed," I replied as calmly as I could. "You can force me to try again, but the outcome will be the same or worse. I cannot do what you are asking, my lord, I am simply not strong enough."

"I see," he stated. "In that case we shall forget the whole thing."

My eyes widened, he couldn't be serious.

"What?"

"I want you to concentrate on recovering, how many days do you think you need before you can travel?"

"Travel?" I gasped. "We… we are leaving?"

"Yes," he replied simply.

"Why… Where are we going?"

"To south," he replied. "Somewhere warm. You like warm, right?"

"I do, but…"

"Cassandra," he cut in and cupped my face. "I am sorry about what happened, I never should have brought you here. I know things have been…messy between us and I have treated you badly, but believe me when I say that we cannot stay here." He paused and kissed my forehead. "I do not expect you to forgive me, but I am afraid this must be done. We are leaving as soon as you are strong enough to travel."


	19. Trouble

**Chapter 18**

**Trouble**

I sighed and closed my eyes when the warm water caressed my body. My muscles were still stiff and I didn't have much strength, but I was getting stronger. The problem was that I didn't really want to get stronger, at least not very quickly. I didn't want to leave. The thought was strange, but that was how I felt, I didn't want to leave Elijah. Of course I knew how wrong my feelings were, but I couldn't help it, I didn't want to lose him.

Obviously I would never betray my husband, my loyalty to him was unconditional, but I couldn't choose my feelings. I loved him. It didn't matter that I had only known him for few days; there was something special between us. It didn't matter now; Kol and I would leave soon. He had acted quite strangely ever since I had woken up yesterday, he had insisted of taking care of me himself.

If I wouldn't know better, I would say that he had been worried about me. I highly doubted that he had been worried about losing me as a person, more like losing the security I offered him. Yet it would have been stupid for not appreciating his kindness, although I didn't think that would last for very long. He could have used my weakness against me or punish me for my failure, but he hadn't done that and he seemed genuinely remorseful for losing his temper so badly.

Our marriage hadn't started well and I couldn't blame only him for that, I had never really given him a chance, I couldn't when my broken heart had belonged to someone else. I needed to forget what I felt for Elijah or the same thing would happen all over again. Kol and I would be together till death, there was no way around that. If we both would make an effort then maybe we could find a way to coexist peacefully.

I had no idea if he wanted that or how long his change of heart would last, but for the first time since we had gotten married things didn't seem completely hopeless. He was what he was; I couldn't expect him to suddenly turn into a perfect husband, but to be fair I certainly wasn't a perfect wife. I doubted that a perfect wife would fall for her brother-in-law.

There was just something about Elijah that made me to feel safe and appreciated when I was with him, just like I had felt with Marco. Yet Elijah was very different than Marco, like all vampires, he had some darkness in him. Still I somehow knew that he would never hurt me. The warmth and kindness in his eyes simply made me smile. If I could just have one kiss… No, I needed to stop this right now.

"How are you feeling, my lady?" Cecily asked, she was gently rubbing my shoulders with a sponge.

"Better, thank you," I muttered.

"The lord insisted that you must eat after your bath."

"Yes…"

I didn't have much appetite, I was feeling quite depressed. Kol had gone to the village with Klaus after I had assured that I would be fine with Cecily, apparently Klaus had something to talk about with Kol. I hadn't paid much attention to the whole thing and I was definitely too weak to use my ability. Surely I would know if Kol was in some serious danger. I had hoped for Elijah to drop by, but he hadn't. That was probably for the best, but I was still depressed. I looked up when I heard a knock from the door.

"Could you see who it is, please," I asked.

"Yes, of course, my lady."

Cecily went to the door quickly and opened it slightly.

"My lady," she said and curtsied. "My mistress is just taking a bath…"

"I do not think that will be a problem," Rebekah's voice said before she stepped inside. "Do you mind?" she asked looking at me.

I felt uncomfortable for being naked in the bathtub, but I shook my head.

"No, not at all. What can I do for you, my lady?"

She turned to look at Cecily and cocked her head towards the door.

"Leave us."

Cecily hesitated for a brief moment, but I gave her a nod, she curtsied and left.

"So," Rebekah started and walked slowly towards the fireplace. "You seem to be feeling better."

"Yes, I am feeling better, thank you for asking."

"That was not really a question," she stated.

I had no idea what she could want from me, but obviously I would be polite.

"Oh."

We were both quiet for a moment; she stopped in front of the fireplace and stared at the flames. Her back was turned, but I could sense her tension.

"So, my lady…" I started.

"Rebekah is fine," she cut in and turned to look at me. "You are after all my brother's wife."

"Yes."

Her gaze was piercing, but she also seemed curious.

"What is so special about you?" she asked. Her tone wasn't rude, but it wasn't very friendly either.

"I beg your pardon?" I muttered, I really couldn't understand her question.

She seemed amused, her lips curved into a smile.

"My brother Kol swore that he would never get married and yet he married you. Yes, maybe he bought you and yes, he most certainly acts like an ass, but he still married you. My brother Elijah rarely shows interest towards any woman, he definitely does not touch the married ones and yet he seems to be willing to bend over backwards for you. And then there is my brother Nik who wants to buy you because he seems to be under the impression that you desire him." She paused and shook her head. "So my question remains, what is so special about you?"

"There is nothing special about me," I muttered. "I never meant to cause trouble…"

"You still did," she cut in. "Look, I feel sorry for you, I really do, as I said I know what kind of an ass Kol can be, but I will not let you to turn my brothers against each other, I have already seen a woman doing that once."

"No, no," I said quickly. "I am not trying to do that…"

"Perhaps not, but that is exactly what you are doing. I have seen the way you look at Elijah and I get it, he is a kind and caring man, but you are Kol's wife and I know my brother, things would not end well. You must stop giving Elijah false hope."

Her words cut me like a knife, but I knew that she was right; I had ended up hurting Elijah, just like everyone else I cared about. My intention had been simply befriend him, just like Kol had wanted; I had tried to manipulate him. I certainly wasn't a good person; all I was good at was causing people pain.

"Kol and I are leaving as soon as I get better," I said quietly. "No need to worry."

"I think that is for the best," she replied. I thought that I saw sympathy in her eyes when she looked at me. "I can talk to Kol if you want, but I doubt that he would listen to me…"

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary," I replied. "I can handle my husband."

She was definitely amused now.

"Good for you. I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you," I said smiling. I respected her for looking after her brothers, perhaps in different circumstances we could have even become friends. I stayed in the bathtub after Rebekah left, I was suddenly very tired. Cecily returned soon with my dinner, but my appetite was gone, I only managed to take few bites. What I really needed was some sleep. I sighed when I was finally in bed, no more than few seconds later I was asleep. My dreams were strange and distressing, nightmares.

"_These ones are on the house, my lords… Some very rare wine…"_

"_Cheers…"_

"_Mikael sends his regards…"_

My eyes flew open and I gasped in shock. My husband was going to die tonight.


	20. Wrong and right

**Chapter 19**

**Wrong and right**

I had never felt such terror, quickly I got up, put shoes on and grabbed a cloak with me, I had no time to get dressed. My body was still weak, but I ran across the hallway as fast as I could, I could only pray that Elijah was in his chamber.

"Elijah!" I shouted and desperately banged at his door with both of my fists. To my relief the door opened quickly and fortunately he was decent.

"What is the matter…"

I jumped on him before he could finish his sentence, I was in panic.

"You must take me to the village right now!"

He looked stunned; he probably thought that I had lost my mind.

"Cassandra, it's alright, everything is fine…"

"No, you do not understand! Please, take me to the village, I beg you!"

"Alright," he said and placed his palms calmingly on my shoulders. "How about we go to the village the first thing in the morning, right now I will take you back to bed…"

"No!"

I forced myself to calm down; I needed him to believe me. I had to tell him everything.

"Please," I said and cupped his face. "Listen to me; this is a matter of life and death. I am not delusional or anything like that, what I am is a clairvoyant and I just had a vision. You must take me to the village right now or both of your brothers will die."

His eyes widened, he stared at me disbelievingly.

"What…"

"Please, there is no time, we must go right now."

He didn't hesitate for long; thankfully he seemed to understand that I was serious.

"Alright, let's go. May I carry you…"

"Yes, yes," I cut in and wrapped my arms around his neck. He lifted me up and vampire speeded us to the stables. The speed made me nauseous, but that didn't matter, there was no time to waste. Elijah started quickly to saddle a horse; he told the sleepy looking stable boy that he would do that himself. I wrapped the cloak around me and waited nervously, I was praying that I would get to the village in time.

Fortunately Elijah was fast; he lifted me on top of the horse and mounted himself to sit behind me. Feeling his arms around me helped me to stay calm although I felt the ice-cold terror squishing my heart. It was dark, but the moon offered some faint light when the horse galloped towards the village. Neither of us spoke, I had no idea what Elijah was thinking. Despite of the cloak, the cold wind made me shiver.

"The tavern," I said when we approached the village. I jumped down as soon as he stopped the horse and I ran as fast as I could. The tavern was full of people, but I knew exactly where my husband was.

"Kol!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, earning amused looks from many drunken men. They probably saw me as a hysterical wife who didn't even allow her husband to spend a nice evening in the tavern without making a scene. Both Kol and Klaus looked stunned when I ran to their table and yanked away their wine goblets. Fortunately for them they hadn't drank the wine yet.

"What…"

I practically threw myself at Kol and muffled the rest of his sentence with a kiss. It wasn't a romantic kiss, I showed him my vision. There was something in the wine; it would have burned him from inside out. The woman who had served them the wine worked for Mikael, she smiled when she watched them die. Kol looked almost shocked when I pulled away, but he acted immediately.

"Nik, the barmaid," he said and gently shoved me off his lap. "She works for Mikael."

Obviously Klaus had a lot of questions, but he acted just as fast as Kol and went after the woman who tried to escape.

"Elijah!" Kol said when he spotted his brother. "Take Cassandra back to the castle and make sure that she is safe." He paused and touched my bottom lip with his thumb. "Thank you."

I didn't have time to say anything when he followed Klaus. Most people in the tavern were staring at me, I could only imagine what I looked like with my tangled hair and wearing a nightgown. Elijah wrapped an arm around me and led me determinedly towards the door; I took a deep breath when we were outside. The cold wind made me shiver again.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded and allowed myself to lean my head on his shoulder; I was too exhausted to care how wrong it was. He didn't say anything; he simply lifted me on top of the horse again. Despite of the wind I hoped that the ride to the castle would have been longer, I leaned back in his embrace and enjoyed feeling him close to me. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but I could sense that he had many questions. I had no idea how to answer them. He dismounted when we arrived to the courtyard and lifted me into his arms, I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Do you mind if I carry you?" he muttered.

I shook my head, I was barely awake. With a sigh I fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

The sun had risen long while ago, but Elijah hadn't moved, he was sitting on the armchair looking at the woman sleeping in the bed. She was a clairvoyant. That actually explained a lot, but it didn't make things any easier. He wanted her so much that it hurt, but despite of everything, she was still Kol's wife and she had saved her husband's life tonight. Sure Elijah had toyed with all kinds of crazy thoughts lately, including simply taking her from his brother who obviously didn't deserve her, but that would be against everything he believed in.

Clearly there was a lot he didn't know about her relationship with Kol and he had tried to convince himself that it wasn't any of his business, but he couldn't deny how badly he wanted this woman. Was it wrong, yes, but did he care, not really. For all his life he had tried to live like an honorable man while his brothers had simply taken whatever they had pleased, why couldn't he do that just this once?

He understood now why Kol had bought her and why his brother wouldn't give her up without a fight, but that didn't really change anything. The main thing still remained that Elijah wanted to take someone else's wife. If and only if she would want it, he would never treat her like some toy. What a mess this was. Fate truly had a cruel sense of humor sometimes.

Elijah sighed and closed his eyes; he really didn't know what to do. Doing that right thing sounded easy enough, but in this case he had no idea what the right thing was. He opened his eyes when the door opened and Kol marched in, his hands were bloody and he had blood all over his clothes. He seemed to be in an excellent mood.

"Brother," he greeted Elijah. "How is my darling wife?"

"Asleep," Elijah replied. "She was exhausted."

Kol walked over to the bed and bent down to kiss Cassandra's forehead.

"My sweet, sweet wife…"

He kissed her lips and was about to caress her face when he apparently realized that his hands were bloody.

"What happened?" Elijah asked when Kol started to wash his hands in a bowl.

"Well, Nik and I had a wonderful time gathering some information. The woman was quite stubborn, but she talked eventually after we got the vervain out of her system. She is…was a hunter, trained by our dear father and she tried to kill Nik and I with a nice little poison made from the minced pieces of the white oak tree. The good news is that she was working alone; our father does not know where she was, she was just one of the many hunters he has trained. She was supposed to let him know if she finds us, but she wanted to impress him by killing us herself, the whole poison was her own creation. Apparently she had…" Kol paused and chuckled. "…a little crush on father."

"I see," Elijah replied.

Kol moved in front of the fireplace and rubbed his hands together in order to warm them up.

"Now if you will excuse me, brother, I want some private time with my lady."

"I know what she is," Elijah stated. "A clairvoyant."

Kol was quiet for a brief moment before turning to look at him.

"Have you told that to anyone?"

Elijah shook his head.

"No, but I suspect that it won't take Niklaus long to figure it out, if he have not already. What did you tell him?"

"I said that Cassandra heard a rumor from one of the servants."

"Ah. I doubt that he believed that."

"It does not matter," Kol replied and crossed his arms over his chest. "Cassandra and I are leaving."

"Is that what she wants?" Elijah asked tensely.

Kol's eyes narrowed.

"She is my wife."

"Yes, I am aware of that."

They were both quiet for a moment before Kol spoke.

"I am sorry, brother, but you cannot have her."

"Just because you paid for her does not mean…"

"I care about her," Kol interrupted him tensely. "And yes, I am aware that must be difficult to believe, but she is my wife in more ways that you can understand. I will not let Nik to enslave her; we both know that he would do that."

"She saved his life," Elijah muttered, although he knew that Kol was right, Niklaus would want to use her.

"We are leaving," Kol stated calmly. "I need to take her away from Nik before he realizes what she is and if you care about her at all, you will not try to stop me."


	21. Loyalty

**Chapter 20**

**Loyalty**

I sighed before opening my eyes, I felt disoriented, like I would have slept too much. The first thing I noticed was the arms around me, my head was leaning on someone's chest.

"It's alright, darling," Kol's voice said before I had time to react. "It's just me."

"My lord?" I muttered sleepily. "How…how long did I sleep?"

He pulled away and looked at me; the look in his eyes confused me.

"Almost the whole day. How is my beautiful wife?" he asked and touched my cheek with his index finger.

"I…I am fine, my lord," I muttered, trying to understand what was going on. Why was he acting like this?

"Good. You are not hurting or anything like that?"

"No, I am fine. Are you…fine, my lord? I was there in time, right? You did not drink the wine?"

"No, I did not."

He cupped my face and looked into my eyes.

"You saved my life, darling."

"Of course I did."

"Yes… Why did you after how I have treated you? You could have just let me die. Our link would have been broken and you would have been free."

I looked at him disbelievingly.

"You still do not understand, my lord? My loyalty to you is unconditional. It makes no difference how I feel about you; I would still do anything to keep you safe. I thought you knew that."

"I did, but…"

"You did not really understand it," I stated.

He bit his bottom lip.

"No, I suppose I did not. Why… The link does not force you to be loyal to me, does it?"

I shook my head.

"No, it does not. You had my loyalty the moment we…"

I lowered my head; I definitely should have kept my mouth shut.

"What?" he asked and lifted my chin. "Tell me. Please."

"It is a part of what I am," I muttered. "I am loyal to my spouse."

"I see. By spouse you mean…?"

I hesitated for few seconds before replying.

"The person I lost my virginity to. My kind… We…It is our curse to imprint to the first person we… That is why we usually stay as virgins. There are some spells that could prevent the imprinting, but my father certainly wouldn't have done that."

His eyes widened, we were both quiet for a long while before he spoke.

"Cassandra… I am sorry. If I would have known…"

"It does not matter," I muttered.

"Yes, it does. I am sorry for not making it more pleasant for you. And… for not getting to know you first."

I didn't know what to say, but he didn't seem to expect any reply, he simply wrapped his arms around me and snuggled his face in my hair. The whole situation felt strange at first, but finally my body started to relax.

"Do you love my brother?" he suddenly asked.

I tensed immediately, but I didn't try to move.

"I…"

"You do," he stated. Surprisingly he didn't sound angry at all, his tone was very calm. "Why is that? You have not known him for very long."

"He makes me feel safe," I muttered. "He is kind and considerate."

"Yes, I am sure that he is. Was Marco like that?"

I froze, how did he know about Marco?

"I… I can explain, my lord…"

"There is no need," he cut in. "Tell me about Marco. I know that he was important to you. Your first love?"

"Yes," I muttered. "He was a servant."

"Ah. And your father killed him?"

"Yes. We were supposed to run away together and get married."

I had no idea why I was telling him this. The whole situation was weird, we weren't even looking at each other, but he was still holding me and his hand was stroking my hair.

"You still love him," he stated, it wasn't a question.

I didn't say anything, talking about Marco made me feel vulnerable.

"That's alright," he continued. "Your feelings for Elijah however… What do you think we should do about that?"

"I have not done anything inappropriate and I never will," I replied. "If you want to punish me…"

"No, I do not." He paused and sighed. "Do you think that you could someday feel something similar for me?"

I was stunned.

"I… You want me to feel something for you?"

"Yes. Do you think that could be possible or do you hate me too much?"

"I do not hate you, my lord."

"But I am guessing that you do not like me very much either. That's alright, I can certainly understand. Perhaps you could consider giving me another chance?"

"You are my husband and I would like us to coexist peacefully," I replied. "I think that would be more pleasant for the both of us."

"Yes, I definitely agree." He paused for few seconds before continuing. "We will still have to leave. It is only the matter of time before Nik realizes what you are. He would not hesitate to enslave you."

"I understand," I muttered. I was sad when I thought about Elijah, but I had known from the beginning that I couldn't have him.

"We will leave tomorrow morning," Kol continued.

"What?" I gasped and pulled away. "So soon?"

He nodded.

"Yes, I am afraid so. Nik is already asking questions."

I pressed my lips together and cupped Kol's face.

"I need to see…"

He didn't say anything when I closed my eyes. What I saw was him and Elijah daggered and myself sitting at the table next to Klaus. His witches had found a way to link me to him and he always kept me near. He smiled and kissed my hand.

"_My sweet Cassandra…"_

I was gasping when I opened my eyes, my hands were shaking.

"We… we need to leave," I managed to say.

Kol nodded and helped me into a sitting position.

"We leave at first light. Have some water, darling."

I emptied the goblet quickly and asked for more. I was thirsty and hungry; Kol helped me to eat some bread and an apple.

"Are you feeling any better?"

I nodded, eating usually helped.

"I…I would like to say goodbye to Elijah," I said as calmly as I could.

He was quiet for a moment; I couldn't see what he was thinking.

"How are you planning to do that?" he finally asked.

"I just want to say goodbye," I replied tensely. "I do not think that is too much to ask."

"No, it is not. You have few hours before morning."

"What? I do not need few hours…"

"What you do during those hours will be completely your business," he cut in. "I will not ask any questions afterwards or ever bring it up, I give you my word."

I stared at him disbelievingly.

"What are you saying, my lord?"

His face was completely blank when he looked at me.

"I know I have done plenty of mistakes, some of them I probably cannot fix… I know this is not much, but I want to give you this one thing. Just for tonight."

"No, my lord," I muttered. "I gave my vows to you…"

"Yes, to be mine and to obey me. As your husband I release you from your vows for tonight and I order you to spend the next hours however you want."

I still couldn't believe this, but he seemed to be very much serious.

"I need to take care of few things before we leave," he continued and stood up. "I will meet you here before dawn."


	22. One night

**Thank you for all the feedback. As I already said, this is not going to be a traditional story; there won't be any simple answers. There will be 2 more chapters after this and as I said, I understand some of you won't like the ending, but that was how I planned to end this from the beginning.**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

**One night**

I was more than confused when I walked slowly towards Elijah's chamber, I really didn't know what to think. My husband had just given me his permission to sleep with another man. The thought hadn't even crossed my mind. Perhaps I was naïve and childish, but all I had fantasized about was a kiss, maybe feeling his arms around me and hearing him whispering kind words in my ear. Yes, I most definitely was childish; he was a man, not some kind of cuddly toy.

Unfortunately my experiences of intimacy were very limited, mostly because my mind had forbid me to even try to enjoy it. My conversation with Kol had been confusing, I didn't know what would happen between us and I had no idea what I was going to do now. Even if he would really be a different person from now on that wouldn't just erase everything that had happened. Maybe I was loyal to him, I would be till death and I had meant it when I had said that I didn't hate him, but…

He had never been faithful to me and I hadn't even wanted him to be, but he was still my spouse and that wasn't something I took lightly, I would never even consider this if he wouldn't have released me from my vows. Why shouldn't I do this, he slept with other women all the time. Why wouldn't I just this once do what I wanted? What did I want? Take advantage of someone who had never been anything but kind to me? Yes. No. Yes. No…

"Good evening, love," Klaus' voice suddenly said, cutting off my inner debate.

I froze and curtsied as calmly as I could, I was suddenly painfully aware that I was wearing a nightgown. I had washed up and brushed my hair, just in case.

"My lord."

I held still when he stepped in front of me.

"There is no need to be so formal," he hummed smiling. "Call me Klaus."

"I am not sure if that would be…" I started, but his sudden invasion of my personal space made me to take a step back. Unfortunately he wasn't planning to give up; he trapped me against the wall with one hand on each side of me. He wasn't actually touching me, but he was definitely too close.

"I insist," he stated.

"Alright, as you wish, my lor…Klaus."

I kept my eyes down and struggled to stay calm, but I was more than nervous, especially when I thought about my vision.

"There is no need to be afraid, sweetheart," he said and touched my hair. "Who would ever hurt a special lady like you?"

"There is nothing special about me," I muttered.

"Oh, I am afraid I must disagree. I owe you my life, do I not?"

"I did not really do anything…"

"You most certainly did," he cut in and lifted my chin. "How did you know about the wine?"

I had no idea what to say, but I knew that I was in a lot of trouble.

"I… I heard some…rumors."

"Really? From whom did you hear these rumors?"

"I cannot remember," I muttered.

He raised his eyebrows.

"How unfortunate. Perhaps we shall continue this conversation in my chamber…"

"No," I snapped before I managed to control myself. "I am not going anywhere with you."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," I muttered, trying to look confident. "You said it yourself that you owe me your life, so I am asking you politely to leave me alone. I do not wish to sleep with you or do anything else."

"That is not what you said few nights ago," he stated.

"Well, I am a woman; surely you know that we have the right to change our mind."

His eyes narrowed, I was really afraid that he wouldn't take no for an answer. Would anyone hear my screams of help, if I would have a chance to scream at all?

"You know, sweetheart, teasing men like that is really not smart. Why would you do something like that?"

"I am really sorry," I said as calmly as I could. "I made a mistake; I did not mean to offend you."

His lips curved into a smirk, I struggled to stay calm when he ran his thumb over my cheek.

"Oh, I forgive you, sweetheart. Tell me how you knew about the wine and we will call it even."

"I already told you," I muttered.

"Yes, but that was not the truth, was it? Tell me."

"I have nothing to tell you," I replied coolly.

"We shall see. I have the whole night…"

"Niklaus," Elijah's voice suddenly said, he was standing behind Klaus. "What do you think you are doing?"

"Leave, brother," Klaus huffed. "This is between me and the little lady."

"She saved your life," Elijah snapped. "And this is how you repay her, by intimidating her?"

"I am not intimidating anyone; I am simply asking her to tell me how she saved my life."

"And she gave you an answer. Now act like a gentleman and leave the lady alone."

The look in Klaus' eyes told me that he was about to lose his temper, I couldn't let him hurt Elijah.

"My lord, please," I said and cupped his face, "I am very tired, could you be so kind and allow me to go to bed? Perhaps we can continue this tomorrow? That is all I am asking if you wish you repay me for saving your life."

He glanced at me and Elijah; it wasn't difficult to tell that he understood. What he saw was a weakness he could use against me.

"My, my," he hummed smirking. "Poor Kol, does he know that he has to share his wife with all the men in his family…"

"Shut your mouth," Elijah snarled and grabbed Klaus by the collar of his shirt. "You will not talk to her like that!"

Klaus' eyes darkened, I tried desperately to calm them both down.

"My lords, please…"

"She came to my chamber just few nights ago and she practically begged me to take her," Klaus stated coldly. "Have she done the same with you?"

"You are lying…" Elijah muttered.

"No, he is not," I said with a shaky voice before Klaus managed to reply.

Elijah's eyes widened, he stared at me disbelievingly.

"What?"

Klaus seemed amused; he tapped Elijah's shoulder and took a step back.

"Yes, it seems that the lady is more of my type. I shall leave you two to talk, but I will see you again very soon," he added, looking at me. Neither Elijah nor I said anything when Klaus walked away, the hallway was very quiet. Elijah turned around and marched towards his chamber, I had to almost run in order to keep up with him.

"My lord? May I please explain…"

"There is no need," he replied coolly. "You do not owe me any explanations; I am not your husband."

I followed him into his chamber and closed the door behind me.

"I think you should leave, my lady," he said without looking at me.

"I will, but first I am asking you to hear me out, I think you deserve to know everything." I paused and sighed, he was standing in front of the fireplace with his back turned. "Kol and I came here because he wanted me to gather information that could be harmful to him. In order to see the person's past or future, I need a physical contact, so I needed to befriend you and I did. I think you are a good person and I enjoyed spending time with you, I hope you can believe that. It was never my wish to sleep with lord Niklaus and I did not, I was trying to read him, but unfortunately I was not strong enough, it almost killed me. That was why I was sick."

I paused again, but he didn't say anything or turn to look at me, so I decided to just let it all out.

"My relationship with my husband is complicated, but my loyalty to him is unconditional, it is a part of what I am and I cannot change that. I know that my feelings for you are not appropriate, but I cannot change them either. My husband was remorseful for all the mistakes he has made and he released me from my vows for tonight. That is all I can offer you, one night, I would destroy your whole family if I would stay here for longer. My place is with my spouse and I would never ask you to choose between me and your family. So… We could have this one night, but I can certainly understand if you wish me to go to hell…"

I didn't have time to finish my sentence when he was in front of me; I startled when he wrapped his right arm around my waist and took the hold of the back of my head with his left hand. The look in his dark brown eyes was intense; like he would have held back for a very long time and now he was going to let it all out.

"I accept," he murmured and kissed me. At first the kiss was very gentle, non-threatening, more like soft tasting. I was surprised and I had to push up on my toes to be on the same level with him, but his arm supported me, drawing me as close to him as possible. I couldn't believe that I was really kissing him, but slowly my body started to relax, this didn't feel wrong at all. His tongue brushed over my lips, the gentle pressure made me to open my mouth against his. I didn't think, I simply allowed myself to feel. There was nothing except the two of us, just for tonight. Finally he pulled away and looked at me; strangely he seemed out of breath, even though he didn't breathe.

"Do you want to continue?" he asked hoarsely.

All I managed to do was nod; he bent down and lifted me up into his arms. My heart was pounding when he carried me across the room, right over next to the canopy bed and carefully lowered me to my feet. I took my nightgown off and lied down on the bed, his intense gaze made me feel shy. His silence made me very nervous; I didn't dare to look at him. What if he didn't like what he was seeing?

"Is…is it that bad?" I finally managed to ask.

"Bad?" he repeated and slowly sat down next to me. "I have never seen anything so beautiful in my life."

I blushed when his thumb gently touched my breast.

"I know they are small…" I muttered.

"They are perfect," he replied and kissed the sensitive peaks of my breasts. "And I want this night to be perfect."

I smiled and moved my hands up to his arms, wanting to pull him closer.

"It already is."


	23. Bittersweet

**Chapter 22**

**Bittersweet**

The sun hadn't risen yet, but Kol was already sitting in the carriage that was taking him and Cassandra further and further away from Nik. And especially from Elijah. Kol had never thought that a night could be so long, but he had forced himself to endure it, he had owed that to Cassandra. Yes, he hated the idea of her being with someone else, but to be fair, he had been with more women than he could even remember after they had gotten married. Still that wasn't the same thing, those women hadn't meant anything to him and… No, he wasn't going to do this.

She had lost her first love, she had been broken when he had married her and he hadn't bothered to find out why she had acted like she had, he had simply started to torment her, so now he would just have to suck it up and for once keep his word. If giving her that one night would fix anything between them, it would be worth the torment he was feeling now. He wanted to earn her affection and be the spouse she deserved since he knew now that she would always watch his back.

She was sitting opposite him, just like she had when they had arrived here, but everything was different now. The look in her eyes wasn't cold anymore; she was nothing but calm and serene. Her hair was down and she was wearing some kind of peasant dress instead of one of her gowns. She had no corset or jewelry and her posture was everything but flawless now, probably because she was tired. They hadn't really spoken a word to each other; her sleepy eyes were looking outside. He had promised not to ask any questions, but the silence was driving him crazy.

"Cassandra?" he muttered.

"Yes, my lord?" she asked and turned to look at him.

He bit his bottom lip, trying to form some rational question.

"Are you…alright?"

She was obviously confused.

"What do you mean?"

He cleared his throat in order to hide his discomfort.

"I mean do you have…pain."

Her eyes widened, she shook her head immediately.

"No, my lord."

"Alright…alright, that's good. He did not… hurt you?"

"My lord, please," she muttered and lowered her head.

"I know, I know, I promised not to ask any questions and I won't, I just needed to know that you are alright."

She was quiet for a moment before she cautiously looked up.

"I am fine, my lord, thank you for asking." She paused and observed his face. "And you? Are you alright?"

"Sure, I am fine. Hopefully we will be fine."

She nodded and gave him a very cautious smile.

"Thank you for what you did last night, I do not think many husbands would have done the same."

"Yes, well, I owed you that much," he muttered. "But you did understand it was just that one time?"

"Yes, I understand. Thank you."

He nodded; he was done talking about this. She yawned and leaned back on her seat, clearly she needed some sleep.

"Come here," he said and patted the seat next to him. "Please."

She hesitated before obeying; he could easily see that she was nervous.

"It's alright," he assured, placed an arm around her shoulders and guided her head onto his lap. She was stiff at first, unsure of his intentions, but her body started to relax when he stroked her hair and gently rubbed her neck.

"Get some sleep, darling. Are you cold?"

"No, my lord. Thank you."

"I would like you to use my first name," he stated. "I liked how it sounded when you stormed in that tavern."

"Sure, I can do that if you want."

She sighed and closed her eyes, he kept stroking her hair.

"How does Tuscany sound to you?" he asked. "Do you want to settle down for a while?"

"I would like that."

"Good. Is running a household something you would like to do?"

"Yes, my… Kol."

"Alright, I shall leave that to you then, I know nothing about such things anyway."

"I will try my best," she muttered sleepily.

He closed his eyes and listened to her steady heartbeat, he could tell the exact moment when she was asleep.

"Me too," he muttered and leaned down to kiss her forehead. He had no idea if his best would be enough, but for the first time in his life he really wanted to try.

* * *

Elijah had never felt so well rested and peaceful than he did when he opened his eyes. For a brief moment he felt that everything was alright in the world, like his heart would have beaten again and his skin would have been warm. Of course his heart didn't beat, but the memory of her warm and soft body pressing against him made him feel something he had thought he would never feel again.

The taste of her lips, the sounds she had made for approval, the look in her beautiful eyes… He knew that he would never forget a second of it. He couldn't when that one night would have to be enough for the rest of the eternity. He had agreed to that, but the thought was still bittersweet. The curtains were open and the whole room was bright; he blinked when the sunrays hit his face.

Sunrays… It was morning. He didn't have to turn his head in order to know that she was gone, but her sweet scent still filled his nostrils. He closed his eyes and reached for the pillow her head had touched, he wanted to savor her scent before it would fade away. He felt something on the pillow and opened his eyes. It was a letter and a small velvet bag. Carefully he picked the letter up.

_My dear Elijah_

_I do not have time to write you a long letter, so all I will say is thank you. For everything. I wish you all the best._

_With all my love_

_Cassandra_

_PS: I left you something that has been my most precious possession; perhaps you could be so kind and hold on to it until our paths will cross again._

It took a moment before he managed to pick up the velvet bag and open it. A tin ring. Carefully he placed it on his palm and observed it. Yes, he would hold on to it. Until their paths would cross again.


	24. Epilogue

**Here's the final chapter, thank you everyone for reading the story :)**

* * *

**Epilogue**

Spain, 1720

The whole town was on fire. Elijah wasn't sure if Kol had been the one who had started the fire, but he had certainly caused a lot of chaos before that.

"Damn Kol," Niklaus muttered. "Why did he not just send Mikael an open invitation while he was at it? Well, this ends right now."

Elijah didn't say anything, he and Niklaus split up in order to find their brother faster. Rebekah was already waiting for them in the ship that would carry them to America. None of them had seen Kol in more than 200 years, thanks to Cassandra. Her visions always kept Kol one step ahead of them. If Kol was here now despite of what Niklaus was planning to do to him that had to mean… Cassandra wasn't with him anymore. Elijah tried not to think about what that meant. He entered a building that seemed to be a tavern. There were chairs, tables, plates and steins lying around the floor, clearly the people had left in a hurry. Few candles were still burning and Elijah could pick up his brother's scent.

"Kol!"

"He is not here," a calm voice replied.

Elijah froze when he heard Cassandra's voice, she was sitting at the only table still standing. She hadn't changed at all, she was wearing a red silk gown and her hair was down.

"Hello, Elijah," she said smiling. "It has been a while."

"Cassandra…" he muttered. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I go where my husband goes," she replied and took a sip out of her wine goblet. Elijah was speechless for a moment; all he could do was staring at her. She looked the same, but there was definitely something different about her.

"So… I suppose Kol knows why we are here."

She nodded.

"He does."

"And he left you behind?"

She seemed amused when she shook her head.

"No, he wished me to negotiate. Please," she added and waved her hand towards the chair opposite her. Slowly Elijah walked over to the chair and sat down. Cassandra smiled and poured him some wine.

"How have you been?" she asked politely.

"I could ask you the same question," he muttered. "You are not… a vampire."

"No. The link between my husband and I prevents me from aging. I must say that the first decades were quite… strange. Immortality was never something I dreamt about. Oh well, life rarely goes the way we plan."

Elijah had no idea what to say, he had imagined this moment so many times, but now… She definitely wasn't the same person anymore; there was some kind of strange serenity in her. Her calm smile was the smile of a person who had experienced too much to let any insignificant things to bother her.

"You look good," she said. "If you do not mind me saying so. I like your new hairstyle."

"Thank you," he muttered.

"And I am sorry about how things ended between you and… Charlotte, was it?"

"What?" he gasped.

She smiled and ran her fingers softly over the table.

"Yes I admit that I have been keeping an eye on you, but just a little and not because I would have wanted to invade your privacy, I only wanted to see that you are alright. In any case, shall we get to the point? My husband and I have decided that we want to come to the new world with you, but he does not want a dagger in his heart and I will not become your brother's slave. That option is possible only if we have you on our side, so what do you say?"

He was unable to reply right away, she waited with a patient smile on her face.

"Yes," he finally managed to say. "You can count on my help."

"Wonderful. We both thank you."

Elijah hesitated; he had no idea how to form his question.

"You and Kol… Are you…"

"Two centuries is a long time," she replied. "You could say that we have learned to accept each other the way we are."

"Do you love him?"

She nodded.

"I do. Despite of the monster he seems to be, deep down he is like a lost child, afraid to be all alone in this world. He needs me and I will always be there for him."

Elijah didn't have much to add to that, clearly she meant what she said.

"I have…" he muttered and picked up the small object out of his pocket. Cassandra's face brightened when she saw the tin ring; gently she took it from him and touched it with her fingertips. There was sadness in her eyes when she kissed the ring.

"Thank you." She looked up and handed the ring back to him. "I would like to give this to you, if you wish to accept it."

He nodded and put the ring back into his pocket. She smiled and touched his hand very briefly. They were both quiet for a while until Kol's arrival broke the silence. He seemed very cheerful and he had blood all over his face.

"Brother!" he greeted Elijah and turned his eyes towards his wife. "Are we finished, darling?"

"Yes," she replied and stood up, her eyebrows furrowed when she looked at Kol. "Look at yourself," she scolded and picked up a handkerchief. "We have company you know."

Kol rolled his eyes when she started to wipe his face with the handkerchief.

"For heaven's sake… You are not my mother, woman, stop acting like you would be."

"Sure, I will do that as soon as you stop acting like an ill-mannered child."

"You see what I have to endure, brother," Kol snorted, but there was definitely warmth in his eyes when he looked at Cassandra.

"There," she huffed when she was finished. "And do not give me that look."

He grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Nag, nag, nag, you can be grateful that you are pretty, my dear, otherwise I would have left you a long time ago."

"Yes, you always promise but never deliver," she huffed, but she was smiling.

He bent down and kissed her forehead, the gesture was both loving and possessive. There was no doubt that he truly loved her. His arm was still around her when he looked at Elijah. His message was very clear "she belongs to me". Surely Kol would have never admitted it, but Elijah could see that Cassandra had been right, he needed her. She looked at Elijah calmly and smiled at him. That smile told him more than any words ever could.

"So," Kol said after a moment of silence. "Where is this ship of yours, I think we are all ready to sail to America."


End file.
